Russia's iPlast launches 5,500 tonne injection line

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iPlast, the Russian moulder of large containers and packaging, has launched what is understood to be the biggest injection moulding machine so far operating in eastern Europe  -  a 5,500 tonne unit supplied by Engel.
The new line, initially producing 1,100 litre solid waste bins, was formally commissioned on 11 September in the presence of Rustam Minnikhanov, president of the semi autonomous Russian republic of Tatarstan. 
In August, iPlast, based in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan, also commissioned a 2,400 tonne injection moulding machine supplied by the Chinese company Haitian.
The Haitian JU 2400 unit, one of the largest machines Haitian has delivered to Russia, was iPlast’s 15th injection machine and is due to turn out mainly transit pallets. The automatic line is robot equipped and includes a Dal Maschio-supplied reinforced conveyor for removing the finished products.

The investments are part of a plan to expand the firm’s product portfolio.  By the end of the year, iPlast intends to extend its rubbish container range with 120, 240 and 660 litre bins, becoming the biggest producer of waste containers in Russia, it said.
iPlast invested around €11.7m in the 5,500 tonne injection moulding line which will process 7,000 tpa of LDPE and manufacture products of more than 30 kgs in weight. It plans to produce 160,000 big 1,100 litre bins a year and, by 2014, the new line is expected to attract annual revenues worth €24.76m, reported the Tatarstan news agency Tatar-inform.

The Russian moulder, founded in 2009, now operates injection machines with clamping forces of between 320 and 5,500 tonnes. It is also a sheet extruder with eight extrusion lines operating in a total production area of more than 20,000m².
iPlast, which gets its raw material from regional producers such as Nizhnekamskneftekhim and Kazanorgsintez, last year consumed 45,000 tonnes of polymers.
“A few years ago, we set the task of processing locally produced polymers. Today’s event is a real step towards fulfilling that task,” commented the Tatarstan president when iPlast launched its big line. Minnikhannov added that iPlast expects to consume 80,000 tpa of polymer in five years time.