New Era Converting Machinery Inc. has announced that Polykote Corp., based in Easton, PA, USA, has ordered a coating and laminating line. That coating and laminating line is now up and running, and it is meeting the expectations the specialty coating company had for its new equipment.

Polykote Corp. is a specialty coating company that focuses on personalized customer applications using rod, slot-die, flexographic and gravure application methods with both water-based coating, 100% solids coating, and other formulations. For 28 years, the company’s focus has been on working closely with its customers on end use needs and specific applications to ensure they can develop the necessary solutions that customers are looking for.

“We at Polykote take a lot of pride in quickly turning customer orders around,” says Nick Guzzo, business manager at Polykote. “Given the specialty nature of most of our customers’ applications, this can be a real challenge. The new line from New Era dramatically increases our line speed, upgrades our coating line software, allows for larger roll diameters and improves our delivery capability, all of which helps our company continue to process challenging customer applications using unique formulations with world-class efficiency.”

The coating line is a purpose-built machine capable of running at 500 fpm under constant, closed loop tension control.  The machine can handle 50” diameter input bundles at 60” wide, laminating two materials prior to windup. Featured is a specialty coating station, which is of modular design, that will allow Polykote to change coating technologies in the future as its business grows. The flexibility of the line will also benefit Virtual Graphics LLC, Polykote’s sister company.  Virtual Graphics LLC will produce its patented, leuco dye free, direct thermal color material “RevealPrint,” which delivers color without using ink or ribbons. 

New Era, in helping Polykote through the process of both purchasing and starting up the machinery and equipment, focused not just on the coating machinery but also on updating the drives and controls. “This new machine will have much greater throughput than existing equipment,” says John Looser, New Era regional sales manager. “It is capable of running at higher speeds and wider web widths and takes advantage of the improved efficiency of running larger incoming and outgoing roll diameters. The operation is improved dramatically with the updated drive and control system; the ease and repeatability of setting and recalling operating parameters results in a high level of performance stability.”

In addition, the new coating and laminating line incorporates field devices with the latest technology, some of which are Bluetooth accessible for calibration and data collection.

The specialty applications that are Polykote’s core competency require equipment that is equally capable of performing custom tasks. New Era worked with Polykote in planning, designing, building, and installing the coating line, communicating every step of the way. The result was a smooth and worry-free installation and start up, with the new coating line meeting every expectation for speed, quality and versatility.

“This represents a significant upgrade to our capabilities,” says John Guzzo, president of Polykote. “With New Era’s coating and laminating line, we have been able to enhance our productivity and helped to ensure that we continue to offer world-class cost-efficiency in the specialty coating market.”