When a company with more than 150 years of experience in the adhesives and coatings markets gives such a firm pledge of support, the industry needs to sit up and take notice. The statement in question came from Jeff Gagnon, ACP Business Unit Manager at Worthen’s facility in Nashua, NH, and was made in response to the installation of a 1920mm Vetaphone VE1B corona treater on one of the company’s specially adapted coating lines in June 2016.
Gagnon explained his comment: “The quality of our coating process requires treatment performance with superior dyne levels without creating pinholes, across a range of substrates from foam run at 30 ft/min to films and fabrics at 300 ft/min. Only Vetaphone were prepared to guarantee performance – and they’ve matched it!” Also part of the promise was that Worthen could run thicker materials, like 1/8’’ closed cell foam without any drop in production speed.
The installation was so successful that Worthen has since installed an identical Vetaphone unit at another of its production facilities, and according to Gagnon, is looking at adding a second Vetaphone corona treater in Nashua to enable the company to develop new opportunities in lamination applications.
In addition to the performance of the equipment, Vetaphone drew praise for its responsiveness before, during, and after commissioning, as well as the ease of working with the technology: “Cleaning and maintenance is simple with Vetaphone’s sliding cartridge system, and this is really useful when your working space is limited,” he added. With a reputation for solving problems, Worthen needs maximum flexibility in its production capability, and has pursued a long-term policy of customising equipment to suit its customers’ needs.
As well as coating and custom adhesives, Worthen offers converting, film extrusion, web coating, private labelling, and toll manufacturing. All are carried out with a close eye on sustainability, and the company’s environmental management system has recently received ISO 14001 certification. The list of products produced at the Nashua plant includes: medical films, foams and fabrics; various types of tape from automotive to carpet applications; hot melts, custom coated PSAs; fibreglass; and synthetic leather. Flexible substrates handled include: urethane, polyolefin, and polyester, woven and non-woven textiles, cross linked foams, and felt and paper, all of which give a clear indication of Worthen’s need for quality assurance.
Kevin McKell, Vetaphone’s VP Sales & Marketing said: “As we look to build awareness of our brand and grow our market share in the US we are honoured that a market leader like Worthen Industries is prepared to give us such a ringing endorsement. As the inventors of corona treatment, and leading pioneers in surface technology, we have an unmatched depth of knowledge and technological expertise that is a perfect fit for all converters.”
Worthen Industries Inc has 15 product lines across five US locations, as well as offices in Hong Kong and Guangdong (China), and Vietnam, with warehouses and agents in Dominican Republic and India. Today, the company employs a staff of 300, and in 2016 enjoyed global sales of more than $100m. Its divisions, NYLCO and UPACO offer leading brands including Perception, Fusion digital papers, Stitchless, Sampson Rib, and EcoBond.
