Corrugated pipes, which are used worldwide in water management and drainage systems and as cable conduits, require high melt quality and perfect homogeneity during extrusion. For this very reason, Fränkische Rohrwerke Gebr. Kirchner GmbH & Co. KG, based in Königsberg / Bavaria, recently decided to purchase a new-generation conEX from battenfeld-cincinnati Austria GmbH, located in Vienna. The pipe manufacturer used this extruder to replace an older model in an existing extrusion line and was then immediately able to meet all requirements in terms of quality standards and output.
FRÄNKISCHE is a family-owned company founded more than 100 years ago, today employing more than 4,500 associates at a total of 22 production plants, and it is famous for its innovative system solutions in building construction and civil engineering as well as the automotive and industrial sectors. One of the company’s core product lines are corrugated pipes made of PVC, which serve as water management and drainage pipes, as well as cable conduits. While the cable conduit pipes range from DN 40 to DN 200 in nominal width, the pipe manufacturer makes water management and drainage pipes for road construction, agricultural drainage, drainage of buildings, landscaping and construction of sports facilities, as well as sewerage systems, which reach up to 800 mm in diameter. Depending on the application and on customers’ wishes, these pipes meet all demands in terms of load capacity and laying attributes.
For its corrugated pipe production, FRÄNKISCHE uses several extruders from battenfeld-cincinnati. The pipe manufacturer has already maintained a customer-supplier relationship based on mutual trust for more than 25 years. Following a modernization of its machinery and equipment already implemented by battenfeld-cincinnati over the last few years, FRÄNKISCHE now decided to acquire the conical twin screw extruder model conEX NG 65. It has replaced an extruder in an existing line which was about 18 years old, with very satisfying results. Frank Beck, Head of Operations und Supply Chain Building Construction at FRÄNKISCHE, expresses this as follows: “The extruder is equipped with a screw optimized for the application. We are really enthusiastic about this high-precision job in terms of melt homogeneity and product quality.” With this acquisition, FRÄNKISCHE is now one of some 100 customers who are operating a conEX NG and are very satisfied with its performance.
Five years have now passed since battenfeld-cincinnati launched conEX NG, a series of three conical twin screw extruder models setting themselves apart from their predecessor versions by a completely revised and optimized processing unit. Their characteristics include the ability to process an enormous range of different PVC types as well as to withstand high tooling pressures of up to 520 bar. The extruders come with a lengthened preheating zone and an optimized screw design to provide high output rates combined with optimal melt quality. Additional advantages of this conEX version are a reduced footprint, lower investment costs in relation to output rates, and a lower energy consumption than the predecessor model.
