A Polymer Engineering Company Encore Background Command Packaging - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Jul 24, 2023 389 likes •584 views

A Polymer Engineering Company Encore Background Command Packaging recognized that the movement to sustainable packaging was here to stay Only way to survive long term is to embrace the new world Corporate initiative to make film

SLIDE 1

A Polymer Engineering Company

SLIDE 2

Encore Background

 Command Packaging recognized that the

movement to sustainable packaging was here to stay

 Only way to survive long term is to embrace the

new world

 Corporate initiative to make film products from

PCR

 Supply of film grade PCR comes from

“Recyclers”…

SLIDE 3

The “Recycler” Model

Trash Hauler / Scrap Broker Recycler!

SLIDE 4

The “Recycler” Model

 Primarily in the

trash/scrap business

 PE is PE…most of the

time

 Opportunistic buyers =

inconsistent sourcing over time

 No consideration of

physical properties (MFI, Density, Dart, Tensile, etc)

 Can only be used as filler

SLIDE 5

The “Recycler” Model The Encore Model

SLIDE 6

The Encore Model

NOT JUST A RECYCLER – A POLYMER COMAPNY

Homogenous Consistent Clean Specialized Encore

SLIDE 7

Homogeneity

CHALLENGE

 Hundreds of different

types of PE

 Most manufacturers have

very specific raw material formulations

 Slightest variances can

cause low output, downtime, or product failure

SOLUTION

 Sortation?  Not feasible for film  High labor costs  Find source stream that is

homogenous and consistent

 Ag film!  One grower will typically use

ne type of plastic for entire

ranch (sometimes 1000+ acres)

 When removed, all film has

same polymer structure, same additive packages, same sun exposure, etc

SLIDE 8

The Encore Model

NOT JUST A RECYCLER – A POLYMER COMAPNY

Homogenous Consistent Clean Specialized Encore

SLIDE 9

Consistency

CHALLENGE

 Even when a “Recycler”

can provide a resin that works once, they can rarely reproduce the same month after month

 Inconsistent and

pportunistic sourcing =

inconsistent resin

SOLUTION

 Find sourcing that is

abundant and solidify long term contracts

 Estimated 100-150 million

lbs of ag film discarded every year in CA alone!

 Encore factory in the

epicenter of ag film usage

 Long term contracts with

many of the largest growers

SLIDE 10

The Encore Model

NOT JUST A RECYCLER – A POLYMER COMAPNY

Homogenous Consistent Clean Specialized Encore

SLIDE 11

Cleanliness

CHALLENGE

 Ag film is one of the dirtiest

sources of scrap in the world

 Up to 80% contamination by

weight

 Compare to other sources of

scrap with <10% contamination

 Resin must have less than

.1% contamination to be suitable for high end applications (i.e. blown film)

SOLUTION

SLIDE 12

Extra Credit

If Encore processes 10 truckloads of plastic, and there is 10% contamination, how many trucks of contamination have been removed? 1 Truckload … At 80% contamination? 8 Truckloads

Plastic recycling is always measured in NET POUNDS. In order to generate 10 NET TRUCKLOADS of plastic, Encore must recycle 50 truckloads of incoming scrap. 50 Truckloads Incoming Scrap x 80% = …..

40 Truckloads!!!!

SLIDE 13

Cleanliness

CHALLENGE

 Ag film is one of the dirtiest

sources of scrap in the world

 Up to 80% contamination by

weight

 Compare to other sources of

scrap with <10% contamination

 Resin must have less than

.1% contamination to be suitable for high end applications (i.e. blown film)

SOLUTION

 Years of R&D  Working with world’s best

engineers and machinery

 Machinery fine-tuning (and

course tuning)

 Advanced water treatment  Proprietary melt filtration  Stringent QC policy

 All resin must pass blown

film test at 1 mil using 100% PCR

SLIDE 14

The Encore Model

NOT JUST A RECYCLER – A POLYMER COMAPNY

Homogenous Consistent Clean Specialized Encore

SLIDE 15

Specialization

CHALLENGE

 Most Recyclers sell

“polymer soup”

 As a manufacturer, if you

don’t know what it is then you can only use it as filler

 You cannot truly replace

important parts of formulation SOLUTION

 Hire specialized staff including

PhD in Polymer Engineering

 Understand customer process

and needs!

 Catalogue each input source

by its properties (MFI, Density, Strength, Color, etc)

 Create custom blends of source

materials to arrive at engineered polymer for specific application

 Compound additives if

necessary (i.e. Antioxidant)

SLIDE 16

Specialization

CHALLENGE

 Even once sources are

catalogued and formulations are developed, variables change

 Example: Drip irrigation

scrap typically made from MDPE

 ….but depending on

manufacturer and ‘major’ supplier, density can be anywhere from .935 to .950.

SOLUTION

 Testing. Lots of testing!  Encore implemented a full

QC lab that is staffed 24/7 with technician

 QC testing for moisture

content, MFI, density, and contamination every 2 hours

 Even minor deviation from

target properties can be adjusted for with different combinations at front end.

SLIDE 17

Encore Today

 Paradigm needs to

shift

 PCR does not have to

be filler

 Cheaper, not cheapest

 Still, PCR is not virgin

 Color  Odor  Gels?

Octene LLDPE 20% HDPE 60% Slip 1% A/B 1% Color 3%

ANYTHING THAT RUNS 15%

SLIDE 18