With more than 50 years in the plastics industry, Plastics Color Corporation (PCC), based in Chicago, IL and Asheboro, NC, is a global leader in color concentrates, functional additives and custom polymer masterbatches for a variety of markets. A PMC Global company, PCC specializes in compounding custom formulations for the medical device market, pharmaceutical and food packaging as well as personal care packaging.
With many of their materials requiring FDA compliance, quality is job 1 at PCC. “Customers look to us to mitigate risks in their applications,” said Dave Minor, PCC’s Vice President of Sales. “We compound materials for critical applications, and there is no room for variance.”
Business is strong at PCC. When the company recently set out to purchase a new high-output compounding line, they researched numerous suppliers of twin-screw extruders and complete extrusion systems. “We did our homework, and in the end, we chose ENTEK,” said Joe Byrne, President of PCC. “Not only did their machinery and equipment fit the bill, but their design and processing expertise was second to none. They understood what we were trying to achieve, and delivered on their promises.”
Increasing Capacity
The new compounding line purchased by PCC was installed and commissioned at the company’s plant in Asheboro, NC in January 2019. ENTEK took complete responsibility for the design and installation of the entire line, which includes a high-output ENTEK HR3-73mm twin-screw extruder and controls, a mezzanine, feeders, and pelletizers. PCC chose the HR3-73mm twin-screw extruder to increase their capacity both now and in the future. It has already helped the company add substantial output and keep up with increasing demand. “Medical, pharma and food are all strong markets and to keep up with the needs of these markets, we had to ramp up our production,” said Dave Minor.
ENTEK put their turnkey plant expertise to work for PCC, taking responsibility for the entire project from design to installation. After start-up, ENTEK personnel stayed onsite at PCC to help train their operators. “Robbie Stevens, our Production Manager in Asheboro, can’t say enough good things about ENTEK,” said Dave Minor. “They are a service-oriented company that is responsive to its customers. They stayed on-site until the new system was operating to everyone’s satisfaction, and made sure our operators were comfortable as well.”
Smart Extrusion
In addition to increasing PCC’s capacity, another attribute of the ENTEK system was the technology available with ENTEK’s PLC controls. These controls help PCC collect data, monitor performance, and remotely view and adjust all parameters.
“PCC runs a lot of complex compounds that can be challenging to process,” said Bill Petrozelli, ENTEK Regional Sales Manager. “That, plus the fact that there is no room for error when producing materials for medical, food and pharma applications, makes the data-gathering and monitoring functions of our controls even more important.”
Future Plans
PCC’s Quality statement includes ‘remain committed to continuous improvement in everything we do.’ ENTEK is proud that PCC chose them to help on this journey and looks forward to helping PCC succeed, both now and in the future. “We have been thrilled with the new ENTEK system but even more so with the company’s can-do attitude,” said Joe Byrne. “They have met and exceeded our expectations, and we will look to ENTEK for additional support in the future.”
