Davis-Standard eyes multiple opportunities in healthcare sector

Davis-Standard presented its complete range of products for the plastics industry at K 2016. According to Jim Murphy, President: “We are seeing strong demand for flexible packaging and our dsX flex-packÔline for extrusion coating and lamination has been well accepted in the market.  Converters are seeking the advantages of high-speed lamination, reduced scrap and improved quality offered by this machine. The economical benefit of these 450 MPM machines is allowing many regional converters to separate themselves from the competition.” The dsX flex-pack is also built with an adaptable machine configuration to support a variety of end-use markets and that is advantageous.The dsX flex-pack excels in price, performance and delivery. The economical benefits of these machines have surprised converters. To get 450 mpm along with improved bonding strength and waste reduction is a significant advantage.

 

Another area with strong market demand is medical tubing.  Customers are looking for turnkey systems that offer the production versatility to handle multiple polymers. “Our systems are built to support extruder outputs up to 700 pounds per hour (315 kg/hr) and line speeds up to 800 feet per minute (240 mpm) for materials including PLA, PLLA, PEEK, FPVC, polyurethane, nylon, PEBAX and FEP. To support this, we offer R&D trials at our laboratories in Pawcatuck, CT, USA and Suzhou, China where we have lines for product development and testing. One is a high-speed FPVC system for multipurpose tubing and the other is a micro bore tubing line for single or dual layer tubing, and single lumen tubing. Customers are able to test new resins and processes prior to making a large capital investment. The versatility of our systems is essential and we’re able to accommodate customers with technology that addresses a variety of tubing,” Mr. Murphy explained. 

 

Mr. Jim Murphy, President

 

In terms of emerging applications, Mr. Murphy cited the continuous growth of the healthcare market, where the need for medical products and devices grows with this demand.  “Plastics are a high performance material for the medical industry, providing disposable products that reduce the possibility of infections.  We are seeing increased development of multi-layer structures and smaller diameter tubing to provide better physical property performance across a range of new applications.” Packaging also continues to grow based on strong demand for packaged products and continued growth of the economy.  Flexible packaging is growing faster than the overall packaging market due to the many benefits it provides.  Flexible packaging provides a lightweight package that is durable and often re-sealable – these are features that consumers desire.