Universal Dynamics Inc., the U.S. arm of Piovan SpA, Venice, Italy, has introduced a comprehensive line of granulators to the U.S. market, which will be sold under the Piovan brand. The new line was launched at Fakuma last year. It became available to the global market starting in January.
The line encompasses small, beside-the press granulators through mid-sized and large granulators, with rotor diameters from 7 to 24 inches, and machines designed for specialty applications such as thermoforming and post-consumer recycling.
"We can offer the whole broad range, from small to large machines," said Dave Miller, Una-Dyn's director of sales. The line of granulators was featured at the company's booth at the Re|focus Recycling Summit & Expo in April in Orlando. Equipment was not on display.
"This is an extremely comprehensive offering that we are going to be bringing here, and it will rival all of the majors that are here, that are selling in this market, with regard to not only the specific size ranges, but also for the complete system-type packages that we can offer," Miller said. In addition, Una-Dyn will continue to offer its lower-cost Autogrind granulators.
FOCUS ON SPECIALIZED APPLICATIONS
The granulators are part of a line of Piovan-brand size-reduction equipment that encompasses granulators, single-shaft shredders, dust-separation systems and conveying systems to pull granulate from the machine. Miller said the line is suited for granulating industrial scrap from blow molding, extrusion, injection molding and thermoforming, as well as post-consumer plastics.
This enables Una-Dyn to supply complete systems in the U.S. "It will allow us to provide not just the granulator to a customer, but a machine that's customized and tailor-made for a customer. It's a complete package, it's not just a stand-alone granulator," he said.
The range of granulators includes both in-line and front-of-press granulators for capturing thermoforming web scrap, as well as granulators designed to handle edge trim from extrusion. For blow molded parts, granulators are available with optional scooped rotors, which allow more area in the cutting chamber, for handling large, bulky parts.
The Piovan product line also includes high-throughput granulators for post-consumer recycling. These granulators come standard with disposable blades that allow knife inserts to be changed easily. The disposable knives are especially suited for applications involving abrasive and dirty post-consumer scrap, he said. In addition, the granulators for post-consumer recycling have a special finish to make them more resistant to wear. The anti-wear treatment is an option for the rest of the line, as are the disposable knives, which are available as add-ons to medium-sized and large machines.
Other notable features include tangential cutting chambers, in which the geometry of the cutting chamber can be tailored to specific applications. Instead of being cast, the cutting chambers are machined and fastened with dowels, so they can be easily disassembled to replace worn parts.
The granulators have a double-angle cut, with fixed knives and rotating knives positioned at opposite angles. Miller said angling the blades allows for more efficient cutting, so that less horsepower is required. Another energy-saving feature, offered as an option, is an additional flywheel at the opposite end of the rotor shaft, which adds cutting inertia to the rotor.
COMPETITIVE PRICING AND PLANS FOR FURTHER EXPANSION
Miller said that CMG SpA, Budrio, Italy, which is partly owned by Piovan, manufactures the granulators in Italy to Piovan's specifications. He said Piovan plans to bring some manufacturing tasks, such as sheet-metal fabrication and assembly, to Una-Dyn's U.S. manufacturing facility within the next year.
In the last six months, Miller said Una-Dyn has worked to be sure the resources were in place to make the Piovan granulators widely available in the U.S. "We wanted to make sure that we have the infrastructure in place and everything set to go before launching it," he said. Until now, the Piovan granulators have been supplied to the U.S. market on an as-needed basis, but were not heavily marketed here, he said.
Miller said the granulators are the first step in building up the Piovan-brand size-reduction equipment business in the U.S. Piovan also offers process cooling and temperature control products, as well as the Penta line of equipment for conveying and blending of powders.
Miller said the company decided to sell the new equipment under the Piovan name because of its global name recognition. Una-Dyn has been a Piovan company since 2008. The North American market accounts for 22 percent of the total business for Piovan, which operates seven manufacturing sites globally.
John DeGaspari, senior correspondent
Contact:
Universal Dynamics Inc., 703-490-7000, http://unadyn.piovan.com
