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Carestream Tollcoating
Invests to Strengthen Contract Coating Services in 2012
MEDFORD, Ore., Jan. 10 – Carestream Tollcoating, a premier
provider of contract services specializing in aqueous and solvent coatings on
flexible substrates, invested heavily in 2011 to better meet the needs of its
advanced technology customers.
Carestream Tollcoating added new equipment and enhanced
capabilities at all stages of the product-process development cycle, from
laboratory/bench scale equipment through pilot coating to large volume
manufacturing. These investments resulted in increased flexibility, enhanced
precision and improved time to market for the company’s diverse customer
base.
In addition, Carestream Tollcoating purchased coating and radiation
curing equipment to expand the range of small sample work and added new,
custom-designed and built instruments and pilot coaters to leverage the
company’s decades of advanced coating and testing experience. The laboratory
expansion was based on a desire for earlier and broader understanding of
product-process parameters to improve scale-up times and reduce overall
development costs for customers.
Beyond the lab—sample quality, solution stability and
efficiency of coating were key focuses for investments made at the pilot scale.
These investments include new solution applicators and the creation of
proprietary, high precision extrusion dies. Low friction cylinders, new load
cells and changes to the unwind/wind system also augmented lamination capabilities.
Updated tension control (via pull rolls and independent drives) and an improved
steering system were installed to handle flexible webs requiring higher
precision conveyance, particularly with thin plastics and foil. These
investments, along with access to updated equipment for rheological, thermal
and physical property measurement during pilot runs, are designed to enhance
customer satisfaction.
In the manufacturing area, key improvements included
increased quality, new coating capability and new solution-making and handling
capacity. Carestream Tollcoating designed and installed an innovative modular
gravure coating station at the
At the
Engineering and development resources responsible for these
groundbreaking improvements led to substantial growth in Carestream
Tollcoating’s intellectual property portfolio.
Carestream filed more than 25 patent applications for process and
product technology innovations, and the growing pool of expertise behind these
processes is now available to all Carestream Tollcoating customers.
“Carestream Tollcoating is the ideal partner for product
development, scale-up and large volume products, helping customers take their
products from concept to market quickly and efficiently,” said Rick Daniels,
who heads the division. “Our focused effort to expand capabilities and
world-class contract coating services enable us to deliver optimal solutions to
meet our customers’ manufacturing and technology needs, eliminate the necessity
for capital investment, and access deep experience in coating and fluid
technology.”
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About Carestream Tollcoating
Carestream Tollcoating offers
contract coating services specializing in the application of aqueous and
solvent coatings on flexible substrates for display component, battery
component, membrane, medical devices, nanotechnology imaging products and other
advanced materials. Carestream Tollcoating’s professional staff of engineers
builds on more than 100 years of coating leadership to deliver a wealth of
knowledge and problem-solving expertise in precision coating applications, fluid
design and preparation, converting and packaging. State-of-the-art pilot coaters
also make Carestream Tollcoating an ideal partner for product development, scale-up
and small volume products. For additional information, please visit http://www.tollcoating.com.
CARESTREAM
is a trademark of Carestream Health.
2012