Corrosion control technologies group Cortec (St. Paul, Minnesota) recently completed an expansion of its VpCI† vapor-phase corrosion inhibitor film extrusion plant in Cambridge, Minnesota.
The result of the expansion is an attractive front office building and training center, the company explains, along with a spacious warehouse in the back to keep up with expanding film production and recycling activities. The plant is described as the world’s only plant dedicated to the production of anticorrosion and compostable films and bags that is fully integrated with its own compounding, extrusion, converting, printing, and plastic recycling services.
The company held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the expanded plant on March 2, 2018, with representatives including the mayor of Cambridge, members of the local media, and representatives of the local bank and contractor who helped make the project possible.
After the ribbon cutting, the company led tours of the production facilities where polyethylene film and bags are made for protecting new metal components and equipment of all sizes from corrosion. Among other applications, the film or bags can be wrapped around a new engine or aerospace component to keep it from corroding during shipment from the supplier to the end manufacturer, the company explains.
In the tour, participants learned how the film is extruded and how both raw and finished materials undergo stringent quality control to ensure a defect rate nearing zero.
According to Tim Bliss, production manager at the Cambridge plant, the company also plans to further reduce carbon footprints for itself and its customers through an expanded recycling program housed in the new warehouse. The company says it reduces waste by recycling film scrap and used film from its customers and adding it back into new film at a rate that ensures the corrosion inhibiting quality of the product.
The nameplate capacity of the Cambridge plant is more than 20,000 t (40,000,000 lb).
†Trade name.