Bandera: the evolution of the market for agricultural film and plans for the future Despite the global economic crisis, the market for coextrusion equipment for agricultural purposes is proving to be ripe soil for Bandera and a sector in which the company has experienced positive growth for many years. This has reasserted Bandera’s leading position in this field. Currently, the majority of requests for agricultural film equipment are for multi-layered coextrusion equipment, because the applications of mono-layer film occupy an increasingly low and limited market sector. The modern preference is for triple-layer equipment, because this type of film meets most of the current requirements for agricultural film, but future development will be focused on 5-layer configuration. Initially, the application field for barrier film was exclusively for fumigation, but within a short time it was noted that the 3 or 5-layer technology brought benefits which could also be extended to other applications, such as greenhouse cover film, low tunnels and silobags. Indeed, multi-layer film does not only allow better management of raw materials, but also optimizes the distribution of additives in every layer. In this way, it improves the physical and mechanical properties of the film, and the transmission of light and colour, thereby increasing the durability of the film itself. The first request for a plant for producing agricultural film came in 2001. In this year, a client (a leader in the production of agricultural film in the Middle East) asked Bandera to supply a 5-layer extrusion plant to produce film for fumigation with a central layer of PA and with an extrusion head of 1300mm. Since then, Bandera has regularly sold equipment of this kind. In the last three-year period, the company sold and delivered eleven such plants, among which was the largest 5-layer extrusion die-head in the world, with Ă˜ 2000mm: an impressive figure given that Bandera manufactures exclusively at its plant in Busto Arsizio. This guarantees total quality and reliability, ordered exclusively by certified sub-suppliers. Bandera is preparing to close the balance of 2012 with a new sales record - over 63 million euros - of which 18 per cent is the income from blown film for agricultural purposes. And the prospect for 2013 could not be better: in fact, along with the best potential markets such as Saudi Arabia, Brazil and China, we are already launching two projects with similarly important Italian transformers. The first project concerns a plant intended for an important transformer in the south of Italy, and comprises a central extruder TR 160 for the central layer, two TR 140 extruders for the intervening layers and two TR 100 extruders for the external layers, all with alternating current motorization at low energy consumption, and an extrusion side feeding die-head with a Ă˜ 2000mm and with a production of more than 2000k/h with LDPE 0,7.
The takeoff is oscillating, with 5000 mm pulling rollers, and has a flattening device made by aluminum rolls and wooden slats, which are inserted alternately through a motorized pneumatic and a motorized gusseting device, both made of wood. There is a ‘C’ folder which folds film of length from 10m up to 18m. The winder, also with a width of 5000mm, is a single station and winds by contact. The second project concerns a plant intended for an important transformer in central Northern Italy and comprises 5 TR 75 extruders, all with alternating current motorization at low energy consumption and an extrusion side-feeding die-head with a Ø 800mm with production greater than 800kg/hour with LDPE 0,7. The takeoff is oscillating, with 3800 mm pulling rollers, and has a flattening device made by aluminum rolls and wooden slats, which are inserted alternately through a motorized pneumatic and a motorized gusseting device, both made of wood. The winder, also with a width of 3800mm, is a double station and winds by contact. Both the lines include a cooling ring, which has special multi lips design that balance the airflow influence on the bubble, and a computerized control system which allows centralized management of all of the parameters of production and operation. Furthermore, it should be noted that Bandera’s work has been recognised with the ISO 9001 quality certificate which, together with many years’ experience, guarantees that Bandera constitutes a secure investment for equipment for the production of blown film, particularly for agricultural film. Company Profile BANDERA has been a leading manufacturer of extrusion lines for thermoplastics since 1947, and is an acknowledged specialist in flat-die foil and sheet extrusion field. BANDERA is a worldwide renowned leading manufacturer of extrusion lines for pipes and thermoplastic film. Constant improvement of BANDERA extrusion lines quality, user-friendliness and long-term reliability is obtained through ongoing technological research, applied to and tested on pilot lines in the company production site located in Busto Arsizio (VA).