Product category:
Pulp and Paper Process News
News Release from: Meech International | Subject: Statics in cigarette production
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 04 November 2005
Taking the Fire Out of Cigarette
Production
The Eastern Company is a pioneer in the tobacco industry in Egypt and the Middle East, but needed Meech help over installing static discharge bars to operate near the printing area
The Eastern Company is a pioneer in the tobacco industry in Egypt and the Middle East The state owned cigarette manufacturer dominates the market not only by virtue of its monopoly status, but also because it manufactures the Cleopatra brand, the most popular in Egypt
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 11 Aug 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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The company handles the complete manufacturing process from receiving and blending the raw tobacco to packaging the final product.
It was in this tertiary stage where they called upon the help of Meech International to help them solve the problems of static on their gravure printing presses.
The gravure presses at the Eastern Company factory in Egypt already had older generation Ex ionising bars fitted to control static.
However, several problems were being encountered and a Meech engineer was called in to assess the situation.
On inspecting the equipment it was found that the installed ionising bars were heavily contaminated with ink and solvents as they were mounted very close to the print roller.
Meech had the solution - the new 915Ex system.
In gravure printing, the solvent based inks are a potential source of fires and the high speed webs charge up as they pass through successive print heads, leading to the danger of a static discharge igniting the flammable solvents and vapours.
The 915Ex is certified by Baseefa to comply with Article 9 of the Council Directive 94/9/EC (ATEX) and is particularly suited to gravure printing applications, where the highest safety standards are mandatory.
The 915Ex offers many advantages to gravure printers over older technology ionising bars.
The 915Ex is the most powerful ionising bar available that is certified for use in hazardous areas and can therefore be mounted much further away from the web.
This reduces chances of ink and solvent contamination as well as being able to produce a larger, more powerful ionisation field, so reducing residual static charges on the web to very low, safe levels.
A further benefit of this mounting configuration is the fact that there is no need to reposition the bar when the diameter of the print plate roller is changed, thereby reducing machine downtime.
Upgrading to the Model 915Ex bars is saving Eastern Company time and money, as well as providing a safe environment for its personnel. Request a free brochure from Meech International ...
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