Plastic Engineering Associates, Inc.
Contact: David Fogarty
4970 Alfresco Street
Boca Raton, Florida 33428
U.S.
Phone: 5614826812
Fax: 5614826826
Plastic Engineering Associates, Inc. is celebrating its 36th year in the foam business. Its founder, James D. Fogarty, is one of the pioneers of the industry, having been involved in every aspect of foam production & manufacturing. Plastic Engineering Associates is truly the world's premiere supplier of custom foam extrusion machinery and consulting services to the industry.
OUR MISSION
To provide the polymeric foam industry with the highest productivity extrusion machinery & finest process consulting services in the world.
BARRELS
Benefits
Superior materials: JP38 or AISI 4140 solid steel bar stock
Centrifugal casting process to ensure uniformity of lining density & thickness
All barrels checked for straightness, concentricity & hardness
Client List
AGAM PLASTICS, INC.
AIREX A.G. - SWITZERLAND
ALLIED CHEMICAL COMPANY
AMERICAN CAN COMPANY
AMERICAN HOECHST CORPORATION
ANASTAR DIVISION of EASTMAN TECHNOLOGY, INC (EASTMAN KODAK).
ATLANTIC RICHFIELD OIL COMPANY (ARCO CHEMICALS DIV.)
BORDEN CHEMICAL CO.- NORWAY
CARRIGAN PLASTICS, INC.
CASCADE PAPER COMPANY - CANADA
CELFORTEC, INC.- CANADA (Owens Corning)
CELPAC EMPAQUES S.A. - COLOMBIA
CHILTERN HUNT LTD - ENGLAND
CINCINATTI-MILACRON - EXTRUSION DIVISION
C.K.F. LTD. - CANADA
COBELPLAST CO. - BELGIUM
COMMODORE PLASTICS, INC.
CCPL COOPBOX S.p.A - ITALY
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES INC
DAIICHI JITSUGYO AMERICA INC
DAICEL CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES, LTD - JAPAN
DAVIS STANDARD DIVISION CROMPTON & KNOWLES
DECEM S.R.L. - ITALY
DOLCO PACKAGING CORP.
DUPONT CHEMICALS - USA
DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY USA AND ENGLAND
DUSAR GMBH - FRG
DYNE-A-PAK, INC. - CANADA
EGGCART, INC.
ELM PACKAGING COMPANY
FINA S.A. BELGIUM
FLEXOLATERS DIVISION of LEGGET & PLATT, INCORPORATED
FLORACRAFT CORPORATION
FLORIDA CONTAINERS, INC.
FOAM PACKAGING CORPORATION
FOAMWARE CORPORATION
FORMOSA PLASTICS - TAIWAN
FORT HOWARD CORPORATION (now GEORGIA PACIFIC)
FRIPP FIBRE CALIFORNIA INC.
GLASSPACK (MONTEDIPE) S.R.L. - ITALY
BATTENFELD GLOENCO EXTRUSION SYSTEMS LTD. - ENGLAND
BATTENFELD GLOUCESTER ENGINEERING CO, INC. - USA
HUNT MANUFACTURING CO (BIENFANG PRODUCTS DIVISION). USA & U.K.
H.F.W. PLASTICS LTD. - ENGLAND
IRVING ENTERPRISES - TAIWAN
INDE PLASTIC GmbH - WEST GERMANY
INOUE RUBBER COMPANY - JAPAN
INNOVATIVE INDUSTRIES INC
INSULATION MATERIALS COMPANY OF AMERICA, INC.
JAPAN STYRENE PAPER COMPANY - JAPAN
JAMES RIVER CORPORATION - DIXIE PRODUCTS GROUP (now GEORGIA PACIFIC)
KANAKA - DENKA COMPANY - JAPAN
KEY FILTERS DIVISION OF PARKINSON MACHINERY COMPANY
KEYES FIBRE COMPANY - USA
KEYES U.K. LTD - ENGLAND
KIM - BEESKOW - GDR (EAST GERMANY)
LABEL-WARDOCO INDUSTRIES- USA
L. W. PLASTICS CO.-USA
LIN PAC PLASTICS - USA
LUDDINGTON PLASTICS, INC.
MARVIN CATRON COMPANY
MOBIL OIL COMPANY
MODERN MATERIALS COMPANY - TAIWAN
MONSANTO COMPANY - USA
MICROCELLULAR PLASTICS TECHNOLOGY,INC.-USA
MINNESOTA MINING & MANUFACTURING COMPANY (3M USA)
NAKAMURA INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY LTD - JAPAN
NICHIMEN CORPORATION - USA & JAPAN
NOVACOR CHEMICALS, INC. - USA & CANADA
NRM DIVISION of DAVIS STANDARD CROMPTON & KNOWLES CORPORATION
NYLON POLYMERS CORPORATION
OWENS CORNING SPECIALTY & FOAM PRODUCTS DIVISIONS (NORTH AMERICA)
OWENS ILLINOIS, INC. ( USA, GERMANY, COLOMBIA)
OTFORD THINWALL PRODUCTS - ENGLAND
PALZIV - ISRAEL
PEPPERIDGE FARMS PLASTICS DIVISION of CAMBELL SOUP COMPANY
PERFORMANCE PACKAGING INC. - CANADA
PETCO, INC. USA
PLASTIQUES CASCADES LTD - CANADA
POLARCUP OY - FINLAND (now Huhtamaki)
POLYSAR RESINS, INC.
POLIURETANOS, S.A. - SPAIN
PORTAPAX LTD - SOUTH WALES U.K.
R.L. ADAMS PLASTICS INC.
ROYALMAID INDUSTRIES INC. - U.S.A.
SCANDPLAST A.B. SWEDEN
SEALED AIR CORPORATION
SENTINEL MACHINE DIVISION of PACKAGING INDUSTRIES GROUP, INC.
SHANGHAI PLASTICS NO.17 - SHANGHAI, CHINA
SILVER PLASTICS GmbH - W. GERMANY
SIRAP-FRIULI S.p.A. - ITALY
SIRAP-GEMA S.p.A. - ITALY
SOLO CUP CORPORATION - USA
SOUZHOU PLASTICS NO. 5 - BEIJING CHINA
STERLING CONTAINER LTD. - ENGLAND
STROM INTERNATIONAL - CANADA
SUN PACKAGING LTD. - SOUTH AFRICA
SWEETHEART PLASTICS, INC. (now SOLO CUP)
SWEETHEART CUP, INC. (now SOLO CUP)
TERMOLAN S.p.A. - ITALY
TERMOPAC S.A. - DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
TIMBRON U.K. - ENGLAND
VAN DRESSER LTD - CANADA
VITEMBAL S.A. - FRANCE
WEST INDIES SYNTHETICS - JAMAICA
W.R. GRACE & COMPANY (FORMPAC DIVISION)
ZEE PLASTICS, INC. - USA
FEED SCREWS
Turbo-Screws
Heat Up Profits. Cool Down Costs.
Turbo-Screws are a patented hardware system of foam extruder screws. Utilizing a specially designed and patented mechanical geometry, Turbo-Screws increase extrusion output for most tandem, long single & twin screw foam systems, regardless of machine brand, age, size or style of construction.
After more than thirty years of research and development, Turbo-Screws are currently covered by 6 U.S. Patents and are patent pending in over 50 additional countries.
Turbo-Screws are proven performers with more than ten (10) years of experimental and production data logged. Turbo-Screws have been successfully employed for diverse materials and foam extrusion processes around the world.
When does 3 equal 5?
Typically, 3 extrusion lines with Turbo-Screws equals the productive capacity of 5 extrusions lines without Turbo-Screws.
Turbo-Screws are the lowest cost method of increasing your throughput. Turbo-Screws produce more product with less labor, lower power and water costs with minimal changes to your extrusion system.
Why shouldn't I just buy a new extrusion line?
With Turbo-Screws you will enjoy a lower initial outlay of financial capital and enhanced capital productivity for your existing equipment. for a comparison of the capital costs per pound of throughput/hour.
Unlike the typical seven figure purchase cost of a new extrusion line, with Turbo-Screws you pay a low fixed cost. Your costs as a Turbo-Screws user are never tied to the throughput rate you achieve with Turbo-Screws.
And, since you are only obligated for one year at a time, you only buy the capacity increase you need, when you need it. Unlike the 26 week or longer delivery period for a new extrusion line, Turbo-Screws can be delivered in as little as four weeks. By improving your existing extrusion productivity Turbo-Screws quickly adds profit to your bottom line without excessive burden or risk for your organization.
Turbo-Screws let you grow rationally at a controlled and affordable pace. With typical new foam extrusion capital equipment purchases, you must make a risky, large step capital investment and inherit the need to sell large amounts of end product quickly.
What's the Return on Investment with Turbo-Screws ?
The Turbo-Screws return on investment is aggressive and achievable with most installations paying for themselves within the first year of production.
In most instances the annual cost to use Turbo-Screws is no more expensive than the yearly costs of a small panel truck.
What about confidentiality?
Our business is dependent upon maintaining your trust. We have a standard confidentiality clause in our user agreement, which is designed to protect your unique proprietary manufacturing information.
We offer a confidential extruder worksheet on our website. By filling out the confidential extruder worksheet on-line, we will make a targeted analysis of your companys process and the benefits that you can expect from the adoption of the Turbo-Screws technology.
Turbo-ScrewsTM, the World's Highest Productivity Extrusion Screws
Key Benefits Production Proven:
Highest Throughput
Lower Manufacturing Costs
Highest quality end products
Capabilities
James D. Fogarty has been actively involved in the plastics industry for more than 40 years. He began his career after obtaining a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute located in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1961.
Shortly after graduating from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and from 1961 through 1963, Jim was employed by the Kimberly Clark Corporation, Neenah, Wisconsin, as a Project Engineer. Jim worked in the company's Research and Development New Products Division, where, along with five other Project Engineers, he worked to develop various foam polystyrene products, including the development of a foam polystyrene Kleenex box.
A by-product of the research and development of the foam polystyrene Kleenex box was the thermoformed manual mass feeding cup, successfully developed and manufactured largely through Jim's expertise. Kimberly Clark Corporation had, for a period of two years prior to Jim's employ, unsuccessfully attempted to thermoform a low density polystyrene foam (1.8-2.2 grams) mass feeding cup. After Jim's tenure on the Kleenex box project, he was selected by the company to perform experimental research concerning the efficacy of thermoforming a cup with a draw ratio in excess of 1:1 from low density foam polystyrene. Three months of round the clock effort paid off, as the project was successful; to the best of Mr. Fogarty's and the company's knowledge, no person or company had developed similar technology. Understandably, Kimberly Clark decided to keep the project technology proprietary.
From and through the years 1963 through 1966, Jim was employed by the Applied Research and Development Corporation (later acquired by Amoco Oil Company) in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Jim was the Director of Research and Development. In this capacity, Jim was also responsible for the transfer of the company's technology to it's various licensees. Jim supervised and performed extensive research and development instrumental in the production of the first polystyrene foam meat and produce trays for the United States market. These were first used by the Kroger supermarket chain located at that time in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
From and through the years 1966 through 1970, Jim was employed as General Manager, Polystyrene Foam Operations of the Chelsea Division of Diamond International, located in Chelsea, Massachusetts. At the request of the Chairman and President of Diamond International, Jim was asked if he would build a foam polystyrene extrusion and thermoforming plant large enough to provide technical and economic data of the then current state of the art manufacturing of polystyrene foam meat trays and 2 x 6 egg cartons, since at that time (late 1960's), Diamond International was the largest pulp manufacturer in the United States. This project was carried out to fruition specifically without the use of any of Diamond International's staff, as this project was, and was to be known, only to the Board of Directors and the President. The data obtained from the plastics plant very strongly indicated foam polystyrene egg cartons and meat trays would compete successfully in the marketplace against traditional pulp containers.
From 1970 through 1975, Jim was a shareholder and President of Sterling Container Corporation located in Manchaug, Massachusetts. Under Jim's guidance and technical expertise, the company grew rapidly in the polystyrene foam custom sheet, egg carton and meat tray business in the greater New England area. Competitors in this area at this time included Mobil Oil Corporation, W.R. Grace, Valcore Imprinted Papers Incorporated and Dolco Packaging Co. In addition to Jim's normal responsibilities of operating the Manchaug, Massachusetts plastics factory, he traveled extensively on behalf of Sterling Container Corporation, and using his expertise and vast experience in the foam polystyrene industry, supervised the design, construction and installation of the machinery and physical plant sites in the Deutschland Democratic Republic, Great Britain, Belgium and Venezuela.
Additionally, from 1972 through 1975, Jim was asked by Sterling Container Corporation's majority shareholder and sole owner of United Sterling Limited (London, England) to assist, on behalf of United Sterling Limited, in the development of a continuous mass process for the polymerization of polystyrene and further, to assist in the development of an expandable bead that would produce a superior printing surface specifically for molded cups. Both of these processes proved to be technically feasible and ultimately, have proved to be highly commercially successful. The majority of polystyrene produced worldwide today is by the continuous mass polymerization method. The expandable bead process proved to be successfully and was licensed to Crest Container Corporation (later known as Texstyrene).
From 1976 through 1980, Jim was President and sole owner of Lake Wales Plastic Corporation, Westboro, Massachusetts. Lake Wales extruded custom foam polystyrene sheet and thermoformed meat trays and processor grade poultry trays. Additionally, Jim sold research & development and consulting services to Dow Chemical Company, Atlantic Richfield Oil Company, Allied Chemical Company, Japan Styrene Paper Company, Kanaka-Denka Company, Monsanto Chemical Company, Owens-Illinois, Inc., American Can Company, American Hoechst Corporation, Cascade Paper Company, Cobelplast Company, Irving Enterprises, Inoue Rubber Company, Marvin Catron Company, Nichimen Corporation, Palziv Company, Pepperidge Farms, R.L. Adams Plastics, Inc., Silver Plastics GmbH, Strom International Ltd., Zee Plastics, Egcart Inc., Gloucester Engineering Company, Instruments Systems, Corp., Solo Cup Corporation, Sekisui Chemical Company, among others.
From 1968 through the present, Jim has been President and owner of Plastic Engineering Associates, Inc. This company has provided consulting services and proprietary machinery exclusively for the foam polystyrene and foam polyethylene industry throughout the world. Jim's past and present activity areas include, but are not limited to, proprietary extrusion screw design, extrusion screw design upgrades, foam extrusion proprietary die and die designs, surface densification equipment, carbon dioxide injection equipment, specifications of foam polystyrene and polyethylene physical plants and equipment, and the related technical know-how incident to all of the above.
In the early 1990's, Jim began development work on improving his foam screw designs which were greatly disseminated throughout the world and still in use in the vast majority of foam industry manufacturers.
The culmination of Jim's unparalleled 40+ years of foam experience & knowledge, Turbo-ScrewsTM have undisputably become the world's highest productivity feed screws in the foam industry. With 6 United States Patents granted on his primary and secondary feed screw designs and over 40 foreign patents pending, Turbo-ScrewsTM have become a huge commercial success by any measure.
A typical, although by no means exhaustive, GUIDELINE TO SERVICES that might be provided to a prospective client is as follows:
1. Foam extrusion-polystyrene-sheet, profile & insulation plank/board
(a) Tandem systems
(b) Twin screw systems
(c) Shell type single screw systems
(d) Dow mixer cooler systems
2. Foam extrusion-polyethylene-sheet, profile & insulation plank/board.
(a) Twin screw systems
(b) Tandem systems
(c) Long length to diameter ratio single screw systems
3. Extrusion coating-polystyrene foam on one or both sides in-line and off-line.
4. Laminating in-line or off-line of cast film or Trycite.
5. Foam Core, Art Board and Pizza Box Board in-line and off-line.
6. Scrap Recovery and Reclaim Systems.
(a) Direct re-feed scrap
(b) Devolatization
7. Thermoforming and Thermoforming Tooling.
A. Physical Plant Requirements
(a) Raw materials, goods in process, finished goods
warehousing
(b) Production equipment
(c) Shipping and isle way space specifications
(d) Maintenance
(e) Quality Control Laboratory
(f) Offices
(g) Utilities
B. Utility Requirements--for production, for total plant.
(a) Electrical--full demand load, running consumption
(b) Air--full demand load, running consumption
(c) Water--full demand load, running consumption
C. Equipment Specification to include:
C.1 Raw material handling.
(a) Polymer-bulk or bag storage and conveying
(b) Scrap-storage and conveying
(c) Nucleating agent storage, mixing & drying
(d) Blowing agent storage, conditioning & pumping
C.2 Blending and Feeding.
(a) Polymer in-bead, flake, cylindric or fluff foam
(b) Combinations of the above.
(c) Nucleating agent storage, drying & combination agents
(d) Blowing agent systems
C.3 Process Instrumentation.
(a) Drive systems
(b) Dies, air rings, screw designs, feed-throat designs
(c) Shaping, pulling, slitting, scoring & take-off equipment
C.4 Scrap Reclamation.
(a) Grinders
(b) Conveying and storage
(c) Densifying
(d) Devolatizing
C.5 Product Storage, Handling & Transportation of Equipment.
C.6 Miscellaneous Tools and Devices.
(a) Gas Detection
(b) Safety equipment and systems
(c) Special tools
D. Quality Control and Laboratory.
Instruments and apparatus for raw material, sheet and product properties, including: melt index, size distribution, moisture, thickness, basis weight, density, cell size, cell wall thickness, orientation, tensile, stiffness, open cells and post expansion.
E. Installation supervision of:
(a) Set-up, alignment, wiring and plumbing
(b) Instrumentation--pneumatic and electrical
(c) Calibration of all instruments
F. Development Procedure
Conduct test runs to establish the formulation and process conditions for the product requirements
G. Production runs to establish formulation & process conditions for the product requirements
H. Personnel training to include:
(a) Process technology
(b) Product property specification and control.
FEED THROATS
Benefits
Drop in replacements for all major extrusion manufacturer systems
Removable feed liner designed for spare part replacement in future rather than complete feed throat liner replacement (Smooth bore design for pellet feed)
Materials of construction for the housing AISI 1026 with an X-800 or equal tungsten carbide interior feed liner
Typically interior water cooling jacketing with SAE J514 fluid ports for process cooling connections
Exterior painted safety blue for anti-corrosion
Guards OHSA yellow
Documentation to include one set of the general assembly drawing (includes a commercial parts lists allowing customer to directly source spare parts in the future).
Plastic Engineering Associates, Inc.
Boca Raton, Florida
METERING SYSTEMS
High Pressure CO2 Metering System
Key Benefits - CO2 Metering System
Pre-piping and pre-wiring of the gas metering system pumping skid and related control enclosure.
All high pressure fittings for the process fluids will be rated ? 6,000 psig M.A.W.P.
Non-ferrous materials used throughout on all process gas contact components.
Haskel pumping systems throughout.
Electronic mass flow controller.
4 Channel electronic strip chart recorder allows continuous recording of the pumping system output pressure, actual mass flow of the blowing agent, injection pressure and process gas injection temperature.
Complete assembly of all mechanical & electrical components on a sturdy frame constructed of mechanical tubing, primed & painted.
Complete mechanical, electrical and gas testing & debug at our assembly facility prior to shipment.
Documentation to include one set of operator's manuals complete with reduced sized assembly drawings and a fluid schematic. A complete parts list identifying all component parts is provided.
Liquid Organic Volatile compound Metering System
Key Benefits - Liquid Organic Volatile Compound Metering System
Pre-piping and pre-wiring of the gas metering system pumping skid and related control enclosure.
All high pressure fittings for the process fluids will be rated ? 6,000 psig M.A.W.P.
Non-ferrous materials used throughout on all process fluid contact components.
Lewa diaphragm metering pump provided for processing of liquid blowing agent
Variable frequency a/c explosion proof drive for simplex pump & related power supply provided for the metering pump.
Accumulator suitable for hydrocarbons with integral rupture disc & pressure relief valve.
Pneumatically controlled flow control valve
Micro-motion mass flow meter
Back pressure regulating system for the process discharge
Electronic mass flow controller for precise metering of the blowing agent
3 channel electronic strip chart recorder for continuous recordation of the pumping system output pressure, actual mass flow of blowing agent and injection pressure.
Wiring to NEC Class I Group II Division D standards (230V, 60Hz) for the metering system components.
Complete assembly of all mechanical & electrical components on a sturdy frame constructed of mechanical tubing, primed and painted.
Complete mechanical, electrical & fluid testing and de-bugging at our assembly facility before shipment.
Documentation to include one set of operator's manuals complete with reduced sized assembly drawings and a fluid schematic. A complete parts list identifying all component parts will be provided.
DESIGN SERVICES Done Right & On TimeTM.
We pride ourselves on doing our job right and doing it on time, everytime. We've done everything from designing large scale commercial plant facilities to R&D laboratories for some of the largest companies in the world in foam extrusion.
Capabilities
Green field Plant Design & Lay-out
Plant Expansion & Upgrade
Blowing Agent Conversion (Combustible & inert), including HVAC requirements
Environmental Regulatory Emissions Documentation
Design & documentation - P&I Diagrams for Existing & New Processes
Design Electrical Control Systems (Process & Data Collection)
Design Plant Process Utility Packages (chilled water systems, evaporative cooling systems, plant-wide electrical distribution systems, plant-wide vacuum systems, plant-wide compressed air systems, raw material handling/conveyance systems)
Combustible & Inert Blowing Agent Storage & Delivery Systems
Design of Materials & Process Testing/Experiments
Heaters/Coolers
Key Benefits
Quick & easy installation
Exceptionally longer Cast-In heater life
Reduces costly downtime
Reliable
Rugged durable construction
Made to customer specifications
Steel terminal boxes available (recommended) to eliminate exposure to live electrical terminals
Incology® tubing
Low expansion stainless steel clamping straps (1/4"-20 socket head cap screws & barrel nuts)
Typically supplied with Type "S" electrical screw termination
FOAM DIES & DIE PARTS
Plastic Engineering Associates, Inc. has been designing & manufacturing foam dies for polystyrene & polyethylene sheet and insulation/plank for decades. This allows you to sleep well at night instead of wondering whether your die will work and be a sound financial and production decision.
Simply put, we design & manufacture the finest extrusion dies in the world. Some of our dies are still producing high quality product after 30 years of service life!
Key Benefits
40+ Years of Die Design Experience
Production Proven
Custom consultation on your process, products before die design starts.
