The Customer
Worthen Industries Inc has more than 150 years of experience in the adhesives and coatings market with 15 product lines across five US locations, as well as offices in Hong Kong and Guangdong (China), and Vietnam. It also has warehouse facilities in the Dominican Republic and India. The company employs more than 300 people and enjoys global sales in excess of $100m.
The Product
The company has a reputation for supplying high quality coatings and custom adhesives and keeps a close eye on sustainability via its environmental management system certified by ISO 14001. Products manufactured at the plant in Nashua, NH, include medical films, foams, fabrics, tape, hot melts, custom coated PSAs, fibreglass, and synthetic leather.
The problem
Worthen was unable to produce sufficiently high dyne levels across the range of substrates being converted at the required running speed of the production lines. This created a problem with ‘pin-holing’ and the resultant waste of expensive substrates.
Previous manufacturing practice
On a range of substrates that includes urethane, polyolefin, polyester, woven and non-woven textiles, cross linked foam, and felt, Worthen was slowing down production to ensure the quality of the finished met with their requirements and those of their customers. This resulted in a drop in the efficiency in the plant.
The solution
In 2016, Worthen fitted a 1920mm wide Vetaphone VE1B Corona unit to one of its specially adapted coating lines. The inherent controllability of the Vetaphone system gave the company the ability to run at speeds from 30ft.min with 1/8 ” closed-cell foam, to 300ft/min with films and fabrics – and all without pin-holes.
The result
Worthen is now able to offer quality guarantees to its customers, and the ease of cleaning and maintenance on the Vetaphone system has increased production flexibility at the Nashua plant, allowing the company to develop new opportunities in lamination applications.