Meech ‘Rent to Buy’ Scheme Proves a Hit at Neschen Coatings

09.06.10

Meech International’s ‘Rent to Buy’ scheme is becoming increasingly popular amongst companies that require solid evidence that the proposed equipment will provide the solution they require across all of the materials the system is likely to be used with.  One of the latest manufacturers to benefit is Neschen Coatings, which purchased a double sided Tornado F5 contact web cleaning system after a three-month trial at its Basildon plant.

“Our solvent-based coating line at Basildon is used for the highest quality of work, mainly for the graphics industry, where even a small amount of dust in the final product is unacceptable,” says Scott Smith, engineering and safety manager.  “The line is used to apply clear adhesive to a huge range of plastic and paper substrates, which are fed from a reel and then rewound after coating. 

“Paper dust in particular was a growing issue and so we searched on the internet for web cleaning systems and came across Meech, whose Tornado series was the only web cleaner we could find that was sufficiently compact to fit into the limited space available.  We invited Meech in and were impressed by its approach.  Under its’ Rent to Buy’ scheme, Meech agreed to install a 2.2 metre wide Tornado F5, which is capable of cleaning both sides of the web just prior to coating.

“The coating line is in constant use so testing had to be carried out on live jobs, which meant we needed the full three months to have the opportunity to trial each of the various substrates that are put through the line.  We saw an instant, marked improvement, and had no hesitation in agreeing to buy the equipment at the end of the trial period.  As we had already paid rental, the final purchase price was reduced.”

The Tornado F5 contact web system provides highly effective removal of dust and other contaminates down to one micron as standard.  It can be tailored to meet the demands of each specific customer and application.  A typical system includes an energy efficient/low noise vacuum unit plus a web cleaning manifold, which is a well proven combination of uniquely designed face plates, brushes and static eliminators to break up the web boundary layer and provide excellent contamination removal. 

The filtration system is rated to 5 microns and Neschen Coatings says that the large capacity of the collection bag means that this does not require regular changing.  The Tornado F5 is aimed at single sided cleaning for widths from 1,210 mm and double sided widths from 600 mm.   If the web is narrower, the Tornado F4 system would be specified by Meech.

“With guidance from Meech we installed the Tornado F5 ourselves without any difficulty and it has been totally reliable since it went into production about six months ago,” says Scott Smith.  “The quality of our final product has been improved dramatically while wastage and lost production time have been significantly reduced.  The lack of any moving parts helps to reduce maintenance to a minimum.  We had not dealt with Meech before and throughout the project it has provided us with an excellent service and after sales care.”

Meech web cleaning technology is used in a wide variety of industries and applications, from printing, paper making and textiles to pharmaceutical and food packaging, automotive, wood and furniture making.  Meech has both contact and non-contact systems available.  These have no ongoing consumable cost and so offer a quick return on investment.

The solvent-based line at Neschen Coatings’ Basildon plant produces reels of paper and film coated with an adhesive on one side, which can be used for indoor or outdoor applications, usually in the wide format graphics sector.  This includes producing clear film for mounting on to glass, a job where even the smallest specs of dirt will be visible.  The factory also operates several water-based lines.  Neschen Coatings, which is part of Neschen AG in Germany, provides a variety of products for areas ranging from book repairs and picture framing to display material and documents.

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