75 years pur technology

7/29/2019 75 Years PUR Technology

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Developments in ProcessingEquipment and Techniques

CARLO FIORENTINI MARCO VOLPATO

Cannon GroupVia G. Ferraris, 65

Caronno Pertusella (Varese)

Italy

MAX TAVERNA

Cannon CommunicationVia Resistenza, 12

Peschiera Borromeo (Milano)

Italy

INTRODUCTION

Ladies and gentlemen,

a very good morning to you all. Let me warmly thank David Reed, the historical Organiser of Utech, for giving us the

opportunity to resume in the next 20 minutes the first 75 years of Polyurethane processing technology.This presentation would require at least one hour, and you can find the complete text in your Congress Pack.It hasnt been easy to concentrate in such a short time a complex history, made by brilliant individuals and structuredcompanies. I could not mention them all many have disappeared or merged, leaving very little memory of their pastwork but, with their ingenious solutions and personal efforts, they have significantly contributed to the developmentof our industry.

After a due historical tour of the past achievements I will continue my presentation with an overview of the currentmarket situation in the machinery field, ending with a quick look in the crystal ball to try to divine the futuredevelopments of this industry.

WHERE IT ALL STARTED

We represent here the machinery guys: the chemical experts have just given before me their vision of the rawmaterials aspect of this business, and I wont repeat what you have already heard during this interesting openingsession of the Congress.

But - while starting my presentation- I cannot avoid paying a due and thankful respectto Prof. Otto Bayer (left) and to his team of chemists that, exactly 75 years ago, filedthe first patents regarding Polyurethane formulations after a long development work inthe laboratories of IG Farbenindustrie in Leverkusen. We read from his biography thatalthough Otto Bayer was only 35 years old at the time and the youngest member of

the team, he soon succeeded in making a name for himself. In Leverkusen he was

exposed to several new fields of research, such as rubber chemistry, pharmaceutical

research and crop protection, but his greatest achievement was ultimately the

invention of Polyurethane chemistry. The principle of polyaddition using diisocyanates

is based on his research; yet, at first, his closest colleagues were very skeptical. OttoBayer's basic idea of mixing small volumes of chemical substances together to obtain

dry foam materials was seen as unrealistic. But after numerous technical difficulties,

Bayer eventually succeeded in synthesizing Polyurethane foam. It was to take 10 more

years of development work before customized materials could be manufactured on the

basis of his invention.

A long, struggling, fascinating history, heavily influenced by the developments of World War II, that forced hisCompany to concentrate on the development of new materials.Some Polyurethane foams were used in the hull of famous German battleships, to make them more difficult to sinkwhen damaged, or in the first air fighters to protect the crew from external cold. In the meantime we know, frompersonal memories left us by the late Dr. Jack Buist another member of the Polyurethane Hall-of-Fame thatImperial Chemical Industries in UK was struggling to develop chemical alternatives to natural rubber that was

difficult to get from the Far East colonies: this was a much sought after raw material, needed to build the huge airballoons used to protect the major British cities from the air incursions of the German Luftwaffe.(next page, left)


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For this application an elastomer was required, totally free from air bubbles and even pinholes, then free from anywater in the formulations.

Therefore, at the same time, in Germany they were adding water to polyols tomake a foamed Polyurethane, while in the UK they were taking out water frompolyols to make elastomeric ones.

Only by the end of WW2, when the British forces took control of the area ofGermany where IG Farben were doing their chemical developments, thechemists of ICI visiting their former enemys laboratories realised how close,but divergent, their Polyurethane projects were.

We have very little evidence of that very early period as far as the dosing andmixing equipment is concerned, but we know that there was a huge amount ofmanual mixing involved, pouring from buckets directly in the wooden boxesused as moulds or in the cavities that were to be filled with foam.

This picture, dated 1952, is self explaining: to show to the public howPolyurethane foam is obtained: Prof. Otto Bayer himself mixes the formulationin a glass with a wood stick! (left)Things went a bit faster after the war, but it is not until the mid 1950s that the

industry can rely on consistent supply of chemicals and requires machines toprocess them. The first patent related with Polyurethane equipment, dated 1951,was filed by Dr. Erwin Weinbrenner and his colleagues Breer, Poppe andMhlhausen.We know, from two fine articles written by Bruce Davis for UrethanesTechnology in 1987, that Erwin Weinbrenner and his colleagues all chemicalscientists specialised in synthetic rubber were called by Otto Bayer (who wasa pure chemist, not intrigued by machinery or processing details) to work in IGFarbenindustrie in Leverkusen with the task of developing a suitable processtechnology for this new family of polymers. Faced with the problem of mixingin a very thorough way small amounts of liquids, Weinbrenner realised that hewould have needed high pressure injection capability. Taking his cue fromdiesel injectors, he asked himself What happens if we directly impinge said

in German Hochdruck Verdsungsverfahren two streams of chemicalsusing high pressure atomising or Gegenstrom ? Prior to this, others hadtried to use milling screws to mix, but foaming would always begin in thebarrel, with disastrous results. Weinbrenner said it took only about six weeks to

get this idea from notes and sketches to a working model, mainly using adapted machinery and parts because, at thattime, money for Polyurethane research was scarce. The first model was based on a design to inject the twocomponents under very high pressure directly at one another in an area of one cubic centimetre creating highturbulence. Once the team had a few concrete ideas for machinery, they needed someone to build them: since theywanted only one or two machines, none of the more well-known equipment manufacturers was interested.This led to search for a competent local supplier: Weinbrenner knew, from their school time in Karlsruhe, KarlHennecke that was building washing machines and other mechanical equipment in nearby Birlinghoven.This coincidence led to the creation ofMaschinenfabrik Hennecke, today one of the leading PUR machinerycompanies. Karl Hennecke died in 1962 and Bayer progressively took financial control of his Company: in 1975, at

the death of Henneckes widow, Bayer owned it at 100% . Bayer AG was the successor to the IG Farbenconglomerate that assumed control of all its patents on PUR chemistry andprocess. Hennecke was sold in 2008 to the Adcuram Group AG, a Groupspecialising in the acquisition and active further development of companieswith potential. Hennecke, on top of being the first Company in the world tomanufacture PUR high-pressure machines back in the 1950s , developed intheir long history a great number of innovative technologies including PentaneProcess Technology (PPT) for eliminating CFC in rigid foam applications,NovaFlex for manufacturing flexible slabstock based on natural CarbonDioxide as a blowing agent or PUR-CSM technology, the generic term for

various spraying processes to manufacture fibre-reinforced components for different applications.The picture above, dated 1951 (courtesy ofBayer MaterialScience, as several other illustrating this paper) shows thefirst dosing unit installed in Leverkusen for the development of Polyester-based flexible foams. Small component

tanks placed immediately above the dosing pumps, stirrers to keep the two components well homogeneous, simplemechanical mixer, a bucket of solvent above it to flush the mixing chamber at the end of the shot.No sign of temperature conditioning, quite understandable for a lab trial lasting a few minutes. Basic but wellconstructed, it seems.


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Following laboratory scale trials, Polyurethane started to be used in many areas of application. Flexible foamappeared in the early 1950s , firstly to replace natural sponges.

Slightly later, when cost-effective polyols became available, the automotive industry started using these foams.Their commercial production can be dated in 1954, based on Toluene Diisocyanate (TDI) and Polyester polyols.

In this Bayer picture, dated 1957 (left), we see a mixing head used for theproduction of Moltopren flexible foam.

These materials TDI and Polyester polyols were also used to produce rigidfoams, gum rubber, and elastomers.

The first commercially available Polyether polyol was introduced by DuPont in1956 by polymerizing Tetrahydrofuran. Less expensive Polyether polyols,introduced by BASF and The Dow Chemical in 1957, offered technical andcommercial advantages such as low cost, ease of handling, and better hydrolyticstability; they quickly supplanted Polyester polyols in the manufacture ofPolyurethane goods.

Thanks to the new polyether polyols, plus new catalysts (like the DABCO, made by the HOUDRY Co. in the USA,and the Tin Octoate) and to new silicone-based surfactants, around 1958-1959 the one shot foam technology wasachieved, paving the way for commercial quantities of more economic, faster reacting and curing foams, withsignificantly improved physical properties.

The total foam production, that had reached in 1957 more than 10,000 Tons(rigid & flexible all included), in 1960 recorded more than 45,000 Tons offlexible Polyurethane foams alone! An astonishing growth rate.

Here, in a picture of 1960, we see an H100 K high pressure dosing unit madeby Hennecke for Bayers laboratory, featuring linear piston pumps made byBosch and an air-cleaned, very handy pouring gun HK 35. (left)

This was used mainly for flexible foams,as shown in this sequence. (left)

Here, two years later, in 1962 we see thefirst lab-scale production of slabstockfoam in Bayers flexible foamdevelopment centre. (left).

This plant is clearly a conventionalfoaming system, producing a low, notyet squared block.


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THE MAGIC DECADE, THE 1960S - A NEW INDUSTRY IS BORN.

Let us now review the history of the equipment manufacturers that followed the pioneering work done by Bayer andHennecke immediately after the war.Between the late 1950s and the early 1960s a magic decade starts for the manufacturers of Polyurethane equipment:most of the players in this business started their activity during those years.

The Viking Engineering Company, that was founded in 1956 in Manchester, UK by Brian Blackwell & DennisKillen to produce confectioning machines for the slabstock industry, is considered the second oldest PUR machineryCompany. Their first experience in metering equipment was to modify a Hennecke discontinuous foaming machineinto a continuous slabstock machine, somehow around 1958, for Kay Brothers/3M Co. At the same time they startedtheir cooperation with ICI, building a dosing equipment for MDI-based rigid foams for Atlas, a Danish refrigeratormaker. Through the 1960s the cooperation with ICI intensified, and in 1971 ICI purchased a minority interest inViking, and progressively increased their financial participation until the founders left Viking to found anotherCompany, Polymech Ltd. which eventually became the current Beamech Ltd. several years later.

Viking started in 1960 the production of their own continuous slabstock foamfoaming plants, visible in this picture (left), while continuing the manufacture ofone line of low-pressure machines for discontinuous foaming.ICI sold their interest in Viking Engineering in 1983 and with the existing

Management Team headed by Bill Rayner Viking became a member of the PTIGroup and became known as Viking PTI Limited, until 1989 when Vikingbecame a fully-owned Cannon Groups Company, and concentrates since thenin the manufacture of both discontinuous and continuous slabstock plants.As of today more than 700 Viking slabstock machines were sold worldwide.

AdmiralEquipment was founded as an engineering Company by FredHermanns in Akron, Ohio, USA in the mid 50s. By 1956 he had expanded itsearly plastics-related activities to include Polyurethane processing, and by 1963they could handle the installation of complete Polyurethane plants for mostapplications. (left)The Upjohn Company, a major producer of Isocyanates based in Kalamazoo,

Michigan, purchased Admiral in 1970 and made it a subsidiary of their PolymerChemicals Division. They were sold years later, in 1985, to the UrethanesDivision of The Dow Chemical Company who eventually sold them to theGusmer Group.They were very active first in the slabstock field and later in the RIM business,where they developed innovative concepts such as closed-loop high pressureflow control, high-temperature RIM units, automated fibre-polyol blendingunits for RRIM, colour graphics controls and large mould carriers forautomotive fascia and bumpers, like the one in the picture.

Almost at the same time Martin Sweets founded in the Louisville, Kentucky, USA, an engineering Company whichclaims to have produced in 1956 the first US-made urethanes dispensing equipment, made on behalf of DowChemical to dispense rigid foam for the domestic refrigerator industry. They are best known for the development in

the early 1960s of the Edgemaster method for flexible slabstock manufacturing, which at that time competed withthe Maxfoam method developed in Norway by Laader Berg. They merged with Edge Industries Urethane Division in1985 to form Edge-Sweets.

Laader Berg, a brilliant Norwegian engineer and inventor he fled Norwayduring the II World War on a fishing boat towards England and invented asingle-manned submarine and other similar equipment in those years! startedexperimenting with urethane-related machinery as early as 1952, but it is notearlier than 1959 that he made his own continuous slabstock machines thatfeatured a pneumatically-controlled swing arm to lay the chemicals onto theconveyor. (left) Then he invented theinnovative Maxfoam system in 1972.Originally named Foamax, the system

uses a bottom-fed trough where the initial reaction takes place before beingdrawn onto the conveyor where the material continues to expand downwardinstead of upward, because of the patented fall-plate design. (right)


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The rights for this revolutionary foaming methods were sold to Unifoam AG a Swiss licensing Company thatimmediately granted to Laader-Berg Co. the rights to become the first manufacturer for this equipment. Numerousother developments followed later, and Laader-Berg with 400 plants sold worldwide maintains today theirsuccessful position in the slabstock foaming equipment field.

Zaco BV (founded by Fraans Voorvalt in Limmen, The Netherlands, in 1958), started producing dispensers for PURand glass-reinforced plastics and soon concentrated in rigid foam lamination. Very active on the market, Voorvaltstarted in the 1970s a cooperation with Viking Ltd., which he was able to acquire from ICI in 1983, when hepartnered with the German Hans Sievert to make Polymer Technology International (PTI).This Company finally encompassed several players specialising in different fields of the urethane technology: amongthem we remember Polymer Technologie in Osnabrck, Germany, Zaco in Limmen, Holland, Viking Engineering inManchester, UK, and Martin Sweets in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, which eventually became Edge-Sweets in 1985.

Elastogran/Elastomer AG was founded in Lemfrde, Germany, in 1962 byGottfried Reuter, a clever chemist with many years of Polyurethane experiencein Phoenix AG. Started as a chemical system house, this industrial concernsoon moved to develop their own metering and mixing equipment. (left)After a complex series of acquisitions and mergers, the Company became partof the chemical BASF group, that was successfully competing with Bayer forthe leadership in the field of Polyurethane formulations and needed the backup

of a machinery Company to provide a complete technology package. BASFincorporated in 1973 Elastogran and two other equipment manufacturers (KBO and VTE) into Elastogran GmbH,headquartered in Lemfrde. Further expansion and development of new dedicated units led to the sale of the wholeequipment division to KraussMaffei in 2002.

Gusmer Corp. is probably the first Company specialising in sprayingequipment for Polyurethanes. Founded in 1961 by Fred Gusmer inWoodbridge, New Jersey, USA, its one of the many equipment manufacturersthat, having made a previous experience with Epoxy and Polyester for sprayingand coatings, applied their know-how to the new developing family of reactingpolymers. They are famous for a mechanical self-cleaning head that needed nosolvents. (left) They applied their solution to thousands of units that have madehistory in the building industry, with millions of square meters of roofs and

walls isolated with rigid foam with their portable machines. They have thendeveloped metering and mixing solutions for urethane elastomers and for theRIM industry. After a merger with Decker in the late 1990s, they acquired theAdmiral equipment business from The Dow Chemical to become today thePUR equipment division of the Graco Group.

North American Urethanes started around 1960-61 with interests in metering and mixing equipment. In 1973 it wasacquired by Edge Industries, active in the field of foam handling equipment (for cutting, conveying etc.) which thenbecame Edge Sweets.

Drostholm was founded in 1960-61 by Frede Hilmar Drostholm in Vedbaek, north of Copenhagen. This Danishfamily Company producers of spraying equipment for glass reinforced polyester and filament winding machines for

the continuous production of GRP pipes (known as the Drostholm process) - was one of the pioneers in theproduction of low pressure PUR foam machinery. Their main models were a 60 and a 15 kg/min machines. Theygradually concentrated on the filament winding machines and neglected further development of PUR equipment. .

Zippel located inEschwege, Germany,started their machinery activity in 1963 at first with spray equipment forpolyester-based coatings, soon entering in the Polyurethane dosing business with a clever piston-dosing system fordiscontinuous moulding. Their activity was sold in 1971 to Salzgitter AG who sold it in 1974 to Kloeckner-Ferromatik-Desma who had established a Polyurethane-injection division for shoe soling in 1967.

Desma was active with rubber processing machines since 1946: theyconcentrated their PUR activity mostly in hot elastomers and shoe solesapplications. (left)

They are still leading this field of activity since then, featuring a number ofinnovative solutions which include mechanical self-cleaning mixing heads,direct soling and multi-colour injection methods.


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Secmer, that started in the mid 1960s in Grenoble, France, has been, and still is, the only relevant French equipmentmanufacturer. Specialising in multi-component low pressure dispensing equipment, they have reached significantresults with cast elastomers, particularly those made with TDI and MOCA curing agent, as well as with non-PURformulations. Secmer is integrated since 2003 in the Baul Group, which formed in 2008 a joint venture with BayerMaterialScience.

Cannon started in Italy in 1964, when Leonardo Volpato an Italian inventor with a long engineering andmanagerial background, developer of fine mechanical solutions for a wide number of industries decided to switchfrom the field of polyester-application spray machines to the new, fascinating field of Polyurethanes.He soon associated with Carlo Fiorentini a young chemist, graduated from the University of Bologna that wasmaturing a significant experience in polymers processing with W.R. Grace and started producing innovative lowpressure dosing equipment and mixing heads with the Cannon brand.

Right at the same time Giovanni Borghi, an Italian industrialist pioneer in thefield of domestic appliances, returned from a trip in the USA with a realillumination: refrigerators insulated with Polyurethane foam were much moreefficient and capacious than those hand-filled with mineral wood.His refrigerators Group, Ignis, developed internally this technology and therelated equipment, a suitable alternative to the imported foam dispensers, whichwere difficult to get, fix and maintain, stimulating an industrial supply ofsimilar machines. Cannon replied promptly, designing for this rising industry a

series of low-pressure, reliable machines adapt for non-skilled labour, easy tomaintain and fix. A clever mixing head was designed to avoid the pre-flows ofthe less viscous component (the origin of a high scrap rate at that time).The control of temperatures, very important to optimise the components

viscosities at the moment of mixing, was brought to an excellent level. The head also required a little amount ofsolvent for the head flushing. That machine earned an immediate success and the Italian refrigerator industry startedusing Polyurethanes with great results, becoming a world reference for all the white appliance manufacturers. (left)

Soon after, in the mid 1970s Cannon patented an innovative high pressure mixing headfor RRIM able to avoid pre-flows and legs of non-reacted material.

In 1979 Cannon patented the first L shaped mixhead that opened the way to a safeopen-mould pouring process. (left)

Further major achievements included innovative methods for the just-in-time manufactureof domestic refrigerators at the beginning of the 1980s, solutions for the precise meteringof LBBAs (Low Boiling Point Blowing Agents) in the 1990s, including the successfulintroduction of Liquid Natural Carbon Dioxide as expanding agent for slabstock andflexible moulded foams, and the use of vacuum to help the foam-filling operation ininsulated panels and, more recently, in domestic refrigerators.

KraussMaffei a famous heavy equipment and steel manufacturer based in Munich, Germany, producers of largeinjection moulding and extrusion plants for thermoplastics started a dedicated Polyurethane Division in 1968.Their first job was the manufacture of a clamping unit for PUR integral skin furniture parts demanded by Bayer.They immediately realised that the scope of supply could have been much wider for a Company with their vastexperience in plastics processing, and they soon applied the high pressure technology to their own metering

equipment, starting in parallel a research activity for a new line of mixing heads.In 1970 they had their first mixheads and rotary pumps available. In the sameyear a patent for a self cleaning mixing head with recirculation grooves wasapplied for in 1970 by R. Keuerleber and F-W. Pahl , a worldwide first (left).

In 1976 they built their first equipment for reinforced systems, starting asuccessful activity for RRIM applicationsin the USA, where they were alreadypresent with RIM piston-dosing equipmentfor automotive bumpers since 1972. Veryactive in the automotive field, K-M soondeveloped transfer mixing heads and otherdedicated solutions for colour dosing and

multi-hardness foaming in the years from1979 to 1985, followed by closed-loop

controlled piston-dosing machines from 1986 to the early 1990s (right).A number of developments followed, we will see them in the following pages.


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Polyurethanes and their process technology were introduced in Japan by Mr. Inoue ofINOAC, a pioneer in the fieldof rubber and vinyl products. In 1954 his Company, MTP Kasei, established a technical partnership with Bayer AG,Germany, starting the production of first urethane foam. Later they tightened a technological partnership withElastogran for both chemicals and machines, which were marketed and used for their own internal use under thePEG brand. Due to Japans stringent manufacturing regulations, the development of local Polyurethane processingequipment started very soon with PEG and Toho, founded in 1963, making life quite complicated for the foreignequipment manufacturers. Maruka Kakouki, the core of today MEG-Maruka Group, started in 1969 in Nagoya .Later, in 1982, MEG-Maruka formed a technical and business partnership with Hennecke .Exporting PUR machines to Japan was and still is quite a difficult task!

The German steel manufacturer SMS (Schloemann Siemag) in 1969 started inDsseldorf a task force charged with the design and manufacture of a completeline of Polyurethane processing equipment. In 1970 they made a dispensingunit with a pneumatically-controlled mixing head, then various electric andhydraulic presses and mould carriers. (left)In 1975 the MKK Contraflux mixhead was patented. In 1977 SMS acquiredBattenfeld and moved the whole set of PUR activities in their Meinherzhagenplant, where they were producing other types of plastic-processing machines.The PUR Plastics activity was then sold to Klckner Ferromatic Desma inHermeskeil in 1989, which sold it to Elastogran a couple of years later.

In 1969 Vittorio Mariani and Gaetano Lombardini started in Italy anengineering and consultancy Company in the field of Polyurethanesapplications, mainly for slabstock at that time, that soon became ImpiantiOMS: they made their first low pressure dispensing machines in 1975, startingat the same time developments on high pressure equipment (left) and rigid foamlaminators.In 1979 they developed their first machines for RIM and refrigerator injection,and in 1985 started producing their own controls. Today they manufacture acomplete range of PUR equipment.

During the magic decade many other equipment manufacturers started their

activity in the Polyurethane business: we remind among others Perros in Italy,(now part ofQS Group) a pioneer in the manufacture of the modern foamingfixtures for refrigerators. SAIP, also in Italy, developers of several specialtyapplications. CIC Ralphs in the UK, mostly concentrated on shoe solingactivities, Max Machinery in California, designing machines with a goodcontrol of flow, temperature, degassing and mixing. AccuRatio, mostlyactivein the USA. Trusioma of Leipzig, DDR, the former East Germany, the onlyPUR machinery manufacturer active in the Eastern Europe, supplying all theEast European markets and COMECON.Cincinnati Milacron, in the USA, developed a number of innovative turn-keysolutions for the application of RIM and RRIM formulations in external carbody parts. (left). Plama in Norway concentrated mostly in slabstock plants.

During the 1960s the availability of Chlorofluoroalkane blowing agents(patented by Dupont with the Freon trademark), of convenient Polyetherpolyols, and of a number of MDI-based Isocyanates with a more controllablereactivity, lead to the further development ofPolyurethane rigid foams: theirinsulation properties, unseen before, made them soon the preferred materials forbuilding and thermal insulation applications. In particular evidence were thespray foams: due to their revolutionary method of application, they were appliedonly where needed, in the desired thickness, contouring complex substrates, andwere dry in few minutes! (left)

During these years another major end user of expanded polymers thefurniture industry discovered the advantages of Polyurethanes. Used to workwith flexible latex foams, the manufacturers of upholstered furniture found great

advantages using lighter and faster PUR foams, that provide a wide range ofgrades using the same basic formulations.


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This was particularly true in Italy, where the furniture industry was a traditional stronghold. Several manufacturers,mostly based in Milans northern industrial area, started using flexible Polyurethanes and were among the first toswitch from manual low-pressure equipment processes to automatic high-pressure based moulding lines.

During the 1960s, also the automotive industry became soon a major end user of Polyurethane parts, mostly for theinterior applications using foams coupled, 95% of the time, with some other aesthetic material. When the availabilityof fast formulations, processed with the Reaction Injection Molding (RIM) technology, allowed for themanufacture of strong structural parts, characterised by excellent impact resistance at low temperatures and highflexural modulus, a new era started. Filled with milled glass fiber, these Reinforced RIM (RRIM) elementsimmediately fascinated the automotive industry for their high performances and relatively low equipment investment.In 1969, Bayer AG exhibited an all plastic car at the K show in Dsseldorf. Polyurethane RIM evolved into a numberof different products and processes.

Equipment suppliers immediately developed appropriate manufacturing devices, such as piston dosing equipmentand reinforced mixing heads capable of withstanding the abrasive action of these milled fillers. In 1972KraussMaffei delivered a 4 component piston machine and the relevant 4 component mixing head for production ofautomotive bumpers for a US automotive customer.

THE YEARS OF THE DEVELOPMENT (1970 1990)

The growth continued, both in terms of chemicals consumption and number of foamed articles manufacturers.

Consumption of chemicals had reached in 1968 an astonishing 277,000 Tons level, versus the 45,000 Tons of 1960.The large chemical corporations realised that the availability of a strong foam and equipment package was astrategic asset to penetrate a market that was eager to buy but was, technically, still rather ignorant.The guarantee of a properly working combination between chemical formulation and processing equipment in otherterms, the guarantee of a successful process for a perfect end product was a very strong sales argument.Those Raw Material Suppliers who did not have one yet, quickly acquired an equipment Company and used it as thekey to enter into new customers and markets.

Bayer had bought 100% of Hennecke in 1975; BASF acquired Elastogran Maschinenfabrik; Upjohn owned Admiraland used it successfully in the USA, Japan and Europe; ICI acquired Viking to approach the mass-volume markets,those producing with continuous foaming processes both flexible and rigid blocks of foam. Other smaller machinerymakers signed more or less exclusive cooperation deals with smaller chemical suppliers, to face the policy of theirlarger competitors. Those who did not accept this philosophy had to fight a tougher battle.

Among other independent equipment Companies, Cannon and KraussMaffei kept their independence from thechemical world and developed their innovation thanks to the cooperation with a wider range of formulation suppliers.

During these years the first German and international patents filed by Bayer on high pressure mixing devices expired:new competitors started offering innovative metering and mixing solutions to a market that was ready to investsubstantially in automated, self-cleaning (therefore solvent-free) equipment to inject Polyurethanes in closed moulds.

Turbulent mixing characterising the first straight heads would not automatically mean perfect mixing.The different viscosities of components were affecting the fluid dynamics of the liquids, with the more fluid onesreaching the exit from the mixing chamber earlier than the more viscous ones: this resulted in unwanted pre-flow ofnon-reacted material (lead) that were creating a soft, wet spot on the finished parts. The same goes for the end ofthe shot, when a leg of viscous polyol was often left behind when the injectors were closing the mixing chamber.

The use of an after-mixer, mounted between mixing head and mould, partiallysolved the problem for the closed mould injection process, but caused extrawork for the trimming of the part and required more cleaning of the gate and themould. The development of a proper mechanical system for the synchronisationof the two flows allowed Cannon in 1974 to launch a new RIM head, thatproved to be particularly suitable for the heavily glass-filled formulations thatwere becoming fashionable in the North American automotive bumperproduction industry. (left)Placing an hydraulic pack very close to each head allowed for an extremelyprecise and repetitive opening and closing operation, optimising the shot weightand the surface quality of these new car body parts.

Turbulent mixing was the basis for the early development of the impingement technology, but turbulent flows oftenimplied the inclusion of air in the rising foam. The equipment and chemical suppliers realised that a good laminarflow would open the path to new successful industrial applications, for a couple of good reasons: the possibility topour in open moulds without splashing the operators feet or the working place, and a more homogeneous foamquality when injecting at high output in closed or open moulds, with a better distribution of the liquid formulation inlarger moulds.


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Cannon, and KraussMaffei conceived a new, different mixing geometry: thecomponents flow was forced through an L-shaped path to smooth the initialturbulence and impart a laminar flow. (left)

Their FPL and UL heads showed significant similarity in design, although theydiffered in the basic need for the L geometry and in practical results.

A long patent battle was fought between the two Companies on a worldwide basis, to assert the priority right over thissuccessful mixing concept. The dispute lasted nearly ten years, and was finally settled in 1987 in the USA.A cross-licence agreement amongst the two Companies was established, to allow both of them to use the L concept.

The existing patents did not allow much space for new inventions... only a few companies offered technically-validalternatives to the L-shaped geometry.

Hennecke developed their new MQ head, in which the mixed components aredriven through a flux smoothing chicane before being injected in mould.(left)This head found a very positive response from the automotive industry, formulti-component injection of car seats and other flexible foams.

Elastogran developed a similar solution in the B-type head, using five smallretractable pins inserted on the liquids path after the mixing chamber, both toafter-mix the components and to absorb their initial turbulence. (left)

Other manufacturers designed alternative solutions to obtain a laminar flow.

The situation had changed, after the patent-agreement was reached: what counted most, for the end users, was that anew generation of heads was available on the market, on a non-monopoly basis, from two competing suppliers andfrom the other alternative solutions.

New applications for this laminar flow heads started immediately, especially for the automotive industry. Low-outputintegral skin foams were used for closed-mould production of steering wheels; medium-high outputs of flexiblefoams could safely be poured in open moulds for automotive seats and backs. Immediate technical developmentsallowed for high colour flexibility in the first case and for the production of multi-hardness seats in the second one.

Product quality and variety improved greatly, a true revolution started in this industry.

Mechanical solutions were found to improve the dispersion of air in the formulation, to optimise the nucleation of thereacting liquid in its initial stage of rise and mould filling.Similar mechanical solutions were found to allow for the usability of solid fillers within the formulations, to enhancethe foam resistance to the flame and to external agents.A new generation of metering pumps and ancillary devices were introduced to safely handle very low viscosity

Isocyanates, or to reduce pinholes and air bubbles in foams.A true chemical engineering process-chain was refined in these years tosuccessfully transport, store, handle, pre-blend, meter, mix and dispense a widerange of formulations, so similar from the chemical point of view but finally sodifferent in terms of mechanical properties and performances. Performing eachtime a chemistry-in-mould miracle, the technology had to guaranteeconsistent results in spite of a huge number of variables.The contribution of electronics was fundamental. The concept of closed loopsetting and correction became available thanks to the availability of fast,dedicated electronic circuits, servo-valves and actuators. As early as 1982-83 apiston-driven machine, electronically controlled in full closed-loop, wasdeveloped and launched by KraussMaffei and Cannon. (left)

Soon other manufacturers including Hennecke. EMB, OMS and Battenfeld offered their versions, and theindustry got, by the end of the 1980s, another kick forward in the direction of enhanced process automation, higherconsistency of production, better parts quality and reduced scrap rate.


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THE EVOLUTION (1990 2010)

By the end of the 1980s the Montreal Protocol for the elimination of volatile chemicals (suspected to permanentlyharm the layer of stratospheric Ozone that protects the Earth and its inhabitants from the dangerous effects of thesolar UV rays) introduced a new challenge to the Polyurethane industry. In numerous fields of application theChlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), patented in the 1970s by Du Pont and sold under the trade name of Freon, were widelyused as physical expanding agents, solvents and cooling agents. The Protocol called for a gradual substitution withother, less harming or innocuous chemicals. This resulted in a tremendously innovative effort to find alternativeproducts, as well as alternative processing methods when the physical status or behaviour of these new substanceswas different from that of the previous, traditional chemicals.

The introduction ofLBBAs (Low Boiling point Blowing Agents, left) requireddifferent pre-blending and mixing methods and equipment, to allow for theoptimum dispersion of the gaseous or very volatile blowing agents in theformulations. Among these, the Pentanes, a family of HydroCarbons (HC)soon demonstrated that it would have provided good processability and near-optimum final mechanical and insulation properties to the foams at a reasonablecost, but with a significant drawback: their flammability that could have led topotential explosions around the polymerisation and curing areas.

Equipment designed specifically for handling these flammable blowing agents was soon installed worldwide inthousands of new or retrofitting projects. It is worth mentioning the introduction, in the late 1980s, of the firstCyclopentane-able preblending units by Elastogran and Hennecke, followed in the early 1990s by the first systemsable to use natural, liquid Carbon Dioxide (CO2) as physical blowing agents for the flexible slabstock industry.

Pioneered by Cannon with the CarDio system for flexible slabstock, the CO2path was soon followed by Hennecke with the NovaFlex system and byBeamech with their CO-2 system.In the meantime other foaming methods were developed, worth mentioning isthe VPF (Variable Pressure Foaming) a vacuum-based foam blocks expansionpioneered by Beamech, Foamex and Recticel.The development of these environmentally-friendly technologies led in the year

2002 the Alliance for the Polyurethane Industry, a spin-off of the US-basedSociety of Plastics Industry, to induce in the Polyurethanes Hall of Fame thefirst member of the machinery industry, after having honoured Prof. Dr. OttoBayer and three other deceased pioneers of the Urethanes chemistry: Dr. KurtC. Frisch (formerly with BASF Wyandotte and founder in 1968 of DetroitUniversitys Polymer Institute), Dr. Jack M. Buist (with ICI Polyurethanes for36 years), Dr. Adnan A.R. Sayigh (founder and the first director of UpjohnsDonald S. Gilmore research laboratories)The honour went to Dr. Carlo Fiorentini, the Cannon Groups cofounder andChairman. (left)

Another fundamental sector of the Polyurethane industry received an importantpush from another environment-related event: the thermal insulation properties of expanded, rigid Urethane foams

made them the most appealing solution to achieve the Emission Reduction goals dictated by the Kyoto Protocol, byimplementing the appropriate Energy Saving methods. A reduction of the Greenhouse gases emitted by industrialactivities was demanded by a number of authorities by the end of the 1990s. Developed nations were demanded to actsooner, while developing countries were given a few more years to comply with, in accordance with a stringentemissions reduction planning, upon which endless discussions were and still are hotly debated. The warmercountries demand for more energy-efficient cooling of buildings and warehouses, the cooler ones want to burn lessfossil non-renewable fuels for their heating purposes. Energy Saving was, and still is, the buzzword, and Polyurethaneis the natural answer. The demand for insulation panels grew immediately, on a worldwide basis.

Continuous or discontinuous, any insulation panel production method saw adouble digit growth rate, and the demand keeps growing since then. In additionto almost all the well-established suppliers of Polyurethane processingequipment mentioned in the past pages, new Companies saw the light as

providers of dedicated plants for the manufacture of rigid panels.Worth mentioning among the most specialised producers ofcontinuouslaminator plants are the Italian PUMA (left), OMS and SAIP, the GermanSiempelkamp and a number of Korean and Chinese smaller manufacturers.


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Manni an Italian major maker of presses for discontinuous production ofinsulated panels, that started working with Polyurethanes in the mid 1970s introduced in 1998 with Cannon the Vacuum Assisted Injection (V.A.I.)technology for the manufacture of sandwich panels applying a partial degree ofvacuum in the cavity (left).This method led to the further development of the vacuum-assisted foamingconcept applied to the refrigerator manufacture, that hit the road about ten yearslater under the joint DOW-Cannon project named PASCAL.

Some important developments of this decade belong to the field of applicationofComposite materials. KraussMaffei developed in 1995 the LFI technologyfor the co-injection of chopped glass fibre and Polyurethane. (left)

Similar solutions were soon developed by Cannon (InterWet) and Hennecke(PUR-CSM Baydur) to manufacture large, structural, lightweight parts able towithstand mechanical impacts and weather.Other interesting applications, stemmingfrom this co-injection concept, allow todayfor the production of articles containingexpanded foams reinforced with glass,

made by spraying various layers ofreinforced and non-reinforced materialsdirectly over a plastic substrate, without the need of a mould. (right)

Other solutions allow for the spray application of thick layers of heavily-filled Polyurethanes containing up to 70% of mineral fillers directly on ahalf-mould surface, to manufacture large sound-deadening elements for thetransportation industry.

Machines and mixing heads must be carefully manufactured to resist the highlyabrasive effect of these filled formulations. (left)

Another important factor to be taken into consideration when designing

metering equipment for these formulations is the high temperature at whichthey must be processed in order to stay at a reasonable viscosity.

Proprietary methods for co-moulding a thermoplastic substrate and aPolyurethane finishing layer have been offered to the automotive industry byKraussMaffei and Hennecke , working in conjunction with a large plasticsinjection moulding press. (left)The final products are mostly used in the automotive industry, where highproduction lots are required, in combination with a reduced price and a perfectaspect. Cheaper Polypropylene is generally used as a support for the moreexpensive decorative and functional layer of PUR.

The gasketing and sealing technology was pioneered by the Swiss equipmentmanufacturer Sphl in the late 1970s with low-pressure, low-output machines.

A few companies Rampf and Sonderhoff are specialised only in theseapplications (left) , while many others equipment suppliers include gasketingand potting equipment in their wider products range.

A new development has been introduced recently by KraussMaffei with thelaunch of a low-output, high-pressure, metering and mixing solution. Similarlow-output solutions are available by other manufacturers for the application ofurethane adhesives, glues, cast resins for potting applications.

Transparent layers of Urethane coatings are today successfully moulded over

veneer and other natural substrates for the production of high-quality glossyarticles featuring a luxury look, used for top class vehicles, boats, interiordecorations or special gift articles, and for protection purposes.


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MACHINERY BUSINESS: THE CURRENT SITUATION

The latest market figures for PUR-related equipment manufacturers are available every year on the pages of theUrethanes Technology magazine (below).

The latest report of May 2011 and theanalysis of the balance sheets say that thethree major players are today Cannon,KraussMaffei and Hennecke, with anestimated turnover of 420 Million US$ alltogether. We have estimated that theremaining 30 companies listed in the reportturn over 330 Million US$. With theunlisted ones the total value of this marketsurely exceeds the 800 - 820 Million US$What are these figures referring to?The range of applications, technologies andspecific processes for PUR is so wide thatwe could spend days only trying to definewhat the various markets are. These figures

take into account only the companiesproducing metering, mixing, dispensing andmoulding equipment for flexible, rigid,RIM, elastomeric formulations.We do not include in this calculation thosemanufacturers who produce exclusivelyperipheral equipment, such as foam cuttingand confectioning, panel handling, robotics,conveying and handling systems, heatingovens, moulds and machinery for coatings.

Dedicated Machines for Each ApplicationTalking of applications, and therefore of the related processing market, we see an increasing attention towards rigid

foams for insulation, on a worldwide basis. Out of more than 13 Million Tons of PUR used worldwide in 2011, 25%are consumed by the Construction industry. Everyone wants to start a PUR panel or pipe-insulation business,everywhere. How many succeed in starting one and then keeping it profitably running, we do not know. How manyof these newcomers can cope with the wizardry of the Polyurethane chemistry and of the related equipment is a longstory that does not belong to this session but keeps us quite busy all the time. Today this field of the Polyurethaneproduction is a highly automated business, therefore with a limited influence of manpower costs, which generatesbulky products, quite expensive to be transported to the final user. The production remains rather local, with a radiusof profitability in the range of 300-500 km between manufacturer and end user. Delocalising these production plantstowards cheap labour countries does not really work, the transport costs kill all the profit.

The manufacturers demand faster demoulding times to optimise the investmentsin equipment, reduced densities to save in chemical costs, and any possiblesimplification in handling and preparation to save manpower and scrap due tohuman errors.

Discontinuous foaming solutions for insulated panels based on the use ofvacuum in the polymerisation cavity have proven to achieve some of thesegoals, with the bonus of higher quality foams in terms of density distribution.

Talking ofcontinuous solutions, in addition to high-speed plants for flexiblefacing panels that have been refined lately, a number of interestingdevelopments have been recently introduced in order to produce a variety ofdifferent panels on the same line: different insulation media (PUR, PIR, mineralwool, EPS), different facings (pre-painted steel, aluminium, copper) alsoimitating natural or traditional materials (woodgrain, stucco, textiles).

Panels characterised by a non-flat profile which imitates the Mediterranean

coppo rounded tile for roofs (left) or carved wood slabs for sectional doorsfor garages and for other aesthetic applications are today produced with thecontinuous foaming method.


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The urbanisation in the developed and developing countries requires a cold chain from the food producer to theconsumers kitchen. Warehouses, insulated trucks and railways, super-market freezers, showcases, restaurant-fridges,beverage machines and of course millions of freezers and domestic refrigerators must be manufactured every year.As far as the refrigerator industry is concerned, in 2010 more than 173 Million sets of domestic refrigerators wereproduced globally. Their manufacturing has mostly moved towards those countries where cheap labour is available.Manpower plays an important role in the final-product cost, and the markets that can provide the widest growthperspectives are by coincidence the same that can provide cheap labour: China, South East Asia, Central andSouth America, Africa. All the major players have established their manufacturing sites in these areas for both localand export markets. Their products can be transported overseas with acceptable shipping costs. In the year 2010, witha total production capacity of 88 Million sets, China has become the World leader in domestic refrigerators-freezers:investments in 2010 and 2011 have been made in this country with production facilities able to produce two millionpieces per year per plant! India, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, Brasil, Poland, Hungary, Russia are running up.

The quality of these refrigerators also because of the high quality standardsimposed by the European, Japanese and North American manufacturers thatown several of these facilities has significantly grown and can compete on aworldwide basis. The traditional white appliance is today produced in a widerange of colours and decorations, shapes, sizes and optionals. Rounded edges indoors and cabinets, the presence of ice dispensers and elegant finishing strips onthe doors, complex thermoformed inner liners in the cabinet have demanded a

number of adjustments in the foaming fixture and in the relevant foam fillingprocess. (left)The PUR chemistry provides today very energy-efficient foams which arecharacterised by smaller cell size and faster demoulding time: this reflects inmore reactive formulations and sometimes in higher ISO indexes, that haveoriented the refrigerator producers towards dispensing units with higherinstantaneous output, larger or more performing mixing heads, faster closed-loop controls. Multiple injections are sometimes performed by up to fourmixing heads on the back of one cabinet; with the latest generation of mixingheads it is possible to perform a variable speed injection, changing the output ofthe formulation during the shot, wetting a much longer section of the cabinetback and obtaining a more even distribution of foam in complex fridges.

Another traditional Polyurethane application field, the transportation industry, is always looking for lighter andstronger applications to comply with a rising Energy Saving policy. Mostly ending in automobiles, the various typesof Polyurethanes used for transportation account for 15% of the global consumption. Every model of modern carcontains a varying amount of Polyurethane, sometimes up to 40 kg per vehicle, that require a dozen of differenttechnologies to be transformed. Traditional products for interiors (seats, backs, crash pads, steering wheels, doorliners, luggage compartments, roof liners) do not seem to suffer from the attack of competing materials, while theroad is still steep for the development of external body parts. Polypropylene and similar thermoplastic commoditieshave shown unexpected capacity to cope with demanding specifications, providing suitable solutions at a lowermaterial cost and using fast-cycle processes.The stringent cycle times and quality expectations of this industry have certainly provided the driving force for thedevelopment of new metering and mixing solutions, but we should not forget the fundamental innovation that theyhave stimulated in the field ofmould-transport systems, smart mould exchange solutions for flexible automatedproduction, as well as in the robotics for inserts placement and parts handling.

An area of certain development is the production ofcomposite parts, able to providelarge, light, structural elements with a variety of reinforcements, including Carbon,Aramidic and glass fibres. (left)

Polyurethanes are in this case flanked by Epoxies, that have recently found aninteresting development using high-pressure equipment for the use of fastformulations, able to replace the slow RTM technology with high-speed RIM process.

A never-starting story seems to be the one linked to the use of PUR in commercial tires, either for surface or fillingpurposes: lots of developments are undergoing, but none of them has hit the road yet, leaving these solutions to fewheavy-duty and off-road applications.

Flexible foams, mostly used for the furniture and bedding industry, account for approximately 30% of the totalPUR consumption, nearly 4 Million Tons. This important share of the business is also reflected quite heavily also onthe processing side and on machinery.


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The technology is still heavily focused in low pressure metering and mixing on continuous foam plants but now alsogrowing with partial high pressure of key streams and for full high pressure, again subject to end application of thefoam. The current global trend seems to be oriented towards modular, upgradable foam machines which can cater fordifferent types of foam with different densities and different technologies: Maxfoam trough is mostly used forfurniture, non-technical applications and liquid laydown, while the conventional direct pour is preferred for high-density and higher-quality, lower-pin-hole foams. With manufacturing centres moving into developing regions of theWorld we see this also being a key focus from the machine buyer who looks for an upgradable, modular machine thatcan grow as his business grows to cater for additional foam types in the future.

Main growth areas are the developing world due to many factors, includingmanufacturing relocation, increased local spending power and populationgrowth which is driving the demand and quality requirements in PUR foamupwards. Visco-elastic foam, also known as memory foam (left) , has been akey growth area in recent years: initially in Europe and USA, it has nowmigrated globally to all regions of the world. There is still development in theraw materials with Polyols, additives and Isocyanates, which will continue tohave some effect on the machinery specification, which can be in discontinuousbox foaming and continuous block foaming; the foam density also varies

between regions and markets, due to feel preferences and spending power of the buyer.

For the future trend we see a continuation of the current one. An increase of demand is foreseen for a totally flexiblefoam production unit, capable of making flexible foams for comfort applications, higher-quality foams for technicalapplications (such as sheet lamination), and rigid foams for insulation applications, along with continued growth anddemand in Visco and memory foams.

THE GEOGRAPHIC REVOLUTION

The growing importance of the economiesof developing countries has obviouslymodified, among others, also the situationof the PUR industry.

When the standard of living rises in a

country, pro-capita Polyurethaneconsumption increases.

This trend (left) is confirmed by the recentgrowth rates: in 2011 almost 43% ofPolyurethanes were consumed in Asia,versus 35% in Europe, Middle East andAfrica, and 22% in the Americas.

Many amongst the most known manufacturers have invested financial and human resources by opening localmanufacturing branches in the developing countries, to gain from the lower cost of labour and to be closer to their

local customers. By doing so, they also have learned a lot in terms of product streamlining, making use of a simplerdesigning approach while maintaining the basic advantages of their traditional product lines.Domestic equipment suppliers born in China, India, Brazil are progressively imposing their presence, first selling intheir domestic market and then, when they can afford to provide an adequate technical support abroad, exporting theirequipment in neighbouring countries.Their products are generally simpler and often less efficient than those provided by the most known manufacturers.A number of important details, mostly concerning the reliability of the installed components and the quality of themetal treatments used for the mixing heads, are still missing, playing an important role in the final sales price.Appealing for the local transformers, these machines can hardly compete on an international market (or even at thelocal subsidiaries of multinational PUR parts producers) with those offered by more experienced and qualifiedcompetitors. But their more appealing prices become quickly the starting reference for the bids, eroding the profitmargins necessary to guarantee the ongoing development of new technologies of the more expensive westernmanufacturers interested in those markets.

Fortunately, price isnt the only deciding criterion for those investors who understand the importance of a prompt andqualified local service, of a global knowledge base about applications and technologies (that can be transferred tocustomers), of the advantages deriving from the use of innovative products generated by first-hand R&D.


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THE FUTURE

The crystal ball isnt yet supplied as an optional on Polyurethane dispensing machines, so we do not know for surewhat the picture of this industry which is still a niche in the wider plastics world will be in the next five or tenyears. We can only look around, talk to our customers and to our Raw Material Suppliers fellows, try to understandwhat the various markets will ask us by then.We bet that:

The magic advantage of Polyurethane a liquid which becomes, through a very complex chemical reactionoccurring in few seconds, a finished solid product without the intermediate steps that characterise all otherplastics processes will continue to generate more and more applications . The full control of the reaction is afundamental advantage. The dosing and mixing process is the key factor to exploit the freedom given by thischemistry.

Energy Saving will be the driving force for the Polyurethane industry for very many years to come.A smart use of technology can provide amazing results in all fields.

Composite parts will continue to make use of the extended spectrum of mechanical and physical propertiesprovided by Polyurethanes. RIM, spray and pultrusion technologies will play an important role in thisevolution.

Easy-to-process Urethane elastomers will grow further, especially the MDI-based ones, both to replacerubber in various known applications and to invent new ones.

As new demands ofSlabstock foams come from the end client and new raw materials are developed, we will

see a continued development of the machinery, with the equipment producers developing their owntechnologies further with CO2 and vacuum. With the increasing population growth in many regions andincreasing transport costs, with a growing demand for PUR we see a continuing drive for more slabstockplants.

To continue providing our customers with the processing tools for running a profitable business, a number ofinnovative steps in the equipment field might be predictable:

Electronics will combine with nanotechnologies, to provide the means to handle chemical products that arebecoming more and more sophisticated. Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and Nano-electromechanical Systems (NEMS) will be part of an intelligent machine combining electronic, fluidhandling, optical, mechanical and chemical functions in a micro-space, integrating sensor and actuatortechnologies with the most diverse process management functions.

Significant evolutions in the field ofmaterials science will see the replacement of metals, currently used formost of our machinery key parts, with ceramics, composites and other high-performance plastics.

Moulds will benefit from all the above, allowing for the simplification of the current mould mould carrier carousel or fixed lines chain, with significant logistic and economic advantages.

CONCLUSIONS

History proves that whatever complex question was submitted this industry was able to respond, promptly andefficiently. The machine makers could deliver more innovative solutions: the limit is not what the equipmentsuppliers have or can provide. Today the limit for this item is on the producers side: the machinery industry hasalways been very innovative and has not changed this attitude so far. We simply could deliver higher standards ifproducers were requesting it and were ready to pay for it.At the end of the last century, the industrial trend was "build the best you can and we are ready to pay for it".Cost cutting and saving initiatives over the last decade have changed the picture: today differently from some otherperiods in the past the machine industry cannot always sell the best technological solution and has to limit the scope

of supply to a very tight investment budget, made by non-technical people that are not aware of the profits andpractical advantages they could get by spending just a little more.The machine industry has today more know-how, mostly due to the electronic competence and the derivingpossibilities: we can build more sophisticated machines, with higher productivity, lower maintenance, better costeffectiveness, greater quality assurance and even more safety features. Many solutions are available to upgradeexisting plants and provide new industrial solutions.This long article tried to provide some historical background about an industry that has heavily contributed to theimprovement of the life standards of the Earth inhabitants in the past 75 years. Ingenious, dedicated people around theGlobe have written a fascinating story, whose end is far from being seen. Chemical suppliers, equipmentmanufacturers, foam and parts makers have worked with great synergy, with a common goal in mind: a better qualityof life. This cooperation is the only possible method to achieve further objectives in a world that is becomingincreasingly complex and energy-scarce.

Thank you for your attention: long life to the Polyurethane industry!


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BIOGRAPHIES

Carlo Fiorentini

Born in Bologna, Italy in 1930.Carlo obtained his Degree in Chemical Engineering at Bologna University in1956, and spent the first two years of his career as Assistant Professor in theChemical Plants Institute.After having matured significant industrial experiences with Montecatini andW.R. Grace he joined in 1963 his associate Leonardo Volpato, founding AfrosCannon to manufacture Polyurethane foaming machines.Since 1974 he is president of Cannon SpA, the holding company of the Groupthat today includes several manufacturing companies operating in the field ofequipment for Polyurethanes, for composites and industrial thermoforming.Other non-plastics activities include today Energy and Ecology plants,Industrial Electronics, Aluminium Die-casting machinery.Since 1970 he filed more than 60 patents covering equipment and technologiesfor production of Polyurethanes, including self-cleaning RIM and L-shapedmixing heads, process-control instruments and PUR process.For his activity in this field he was awarded by the FSK (German Foamed

Plastics Materials Association) with the Gold Medal in 1984.In 2002 he has been induced in the Polyurethanes Hall of Fame by the A.P.I.(Alliance for Polyurethanes Industry), the first member of the machinery sectorafter four distinguished chemists.

Marco Volpato

Born in Verbania, Italy, in 1945Marco obtained his Degree in Applied Mathematics at the State University ofMilan, where he briefly served as assistant in Cybernetics at the PhysicsDepartment. His academic formation continued later with a Master in BusinessAdministration at the Bocconi University of Milan; with additionalspecialization courses at the Harvard University and M.I.T. in USA.

After having spent three years as Systems Analyst at Honeywell InformationSystems, in 1974, upon his fathers death, he took over both ownership andmanagement of Cannon Afros, the first small business activity existing at thattime of the present Cannon Group.From 1974 to 1986 he contributed to Cannons involvement in all Polyurethaneapplications and to its internationalisation.From 1987 onwards he was engaged in the process of diversifying the existingbusiness to other manufacturing fields for plastics machinery and industrialelectronics.Besides, with the acquisition of the Bono Group he introduced Cannon into theecology and energy field with the aim of developing technologies in the field ofenergy saving and environmental protection.

Max TavernaMax was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1949 and has an education background in Industrial Chemistry.He worked for Upjohn's Polyurethanes Division in Italy and joined Cannon Afros in 1982 as the European SalesManager. From 1986 to 2009 he served as Corporate Director of Communications & IT.Currently retired, Max cooperates with Cannon for editorial and content-related projects like this.

Note from the Authors.We apologise for any omission or error in this speech regarding Companies and protagonists names, dates and

places. Collecting these data hasnt been simple and we surely have put our outmost attention in describing the facts.

Our warmest thanks to Urethanes Technology for the use of their archive material, to Bayer MaterialScience,Hennecke , KraussMaffei, LaaderBerg and Cannon Viking for supplying pictures and notes of their early activities.

75 years pur technology

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