Case Studies

Exwold was approached by a multinational chemical company to process a range of surface coating additives used in the automotive market. The surface coating additive is manufactured as a molten solid in drums. Once cooled it forms a waxy, solid mass. The product range includes material that has a low melting point < 50ºC. The client required this in a physical form that could be charged into coating with specific particle size distribution to ensure good dispersion. This high performance product couldn’t have any residual contaminants.

A specialist flooring manufacturer based in the UK required a range of three performance coating blends, as well as a high degree of durability. They were able to supply a formulation which had been developed in their laboratory. This comprised of 6 powder components. The smallest component made up 2% of the formulation and the largest 25%. The main challenge was the requirement to incorporate a 35% charge of an additional liquid component, whilst still producing a final powder blend that could be readily charged to their equipment for the final stages.

A powder coating manufacturer contacted Exwold to establish whether a process could be established to recycle fines (the fine powder generated and removed during powder coating manufacture).

It was estimated the company was sending 10-25mt of fines to landfill each year and wanted to reduce the environmental and financial impact. The fines ranged in PSD but were typically 150 microns.

A development company contacted Exwold requiring the scale-up of a blend which had been produced only at laboratory scale.

It comprised of 7 component powders including a dye at 0.3% of the total formulation. The dye would be provided in a powder form and it was essential that the dye was homogeneously distributed across the blend.

Whilst producing a range of water dispersible granules for a multi-national client, the handling of condensate water was identified as a target for waste reduction, becoming part of a joint efficiency project in partnership with the client.

Condensate water is generated as a result of water being added at the extrusion stage for all extrusion products. This produces an extrusion dough which is then removed during the drying to achieve dry in-specification granules.

Agrochemical Track and Trace is a way of protecting human health, helping to ensure residues on our foods are below set limits. It enables products to be followed from production to the field. It also helps in the fight to prevent counterfeiting which can be a serious problem for agrochemicals, potentially risking health and causing economic damage.

As a contract manufacturer to many of the world’s leading crop protection companies, Exwold packs hundreds of tonnes of granules each year going directly to distributors throughout Europe. To maintain our status as a major supplier, it is critical that we meet and comply with the industry standards and requirements.

An American multi-national company needed to improve the effectiveness of its supply chain for formulating a key Plant Growth Regulator (PGR) soluble granule.

The client was in the process of establishing a new Active Ingredient supply via a joint venture plant in China and was looking for an EU based formulation partner because the main markets for the granular PGR were in Europe.

Exwold had been in discussion with the client for several years about a number of agrochemical products, so when the decision was made to transfer production of this PGR to Europe, Exwold was chosen as the contracting partner.

Whilst exhibiting at a European trade fair, we were approached by a multinational chemical company with an enquiry. The European client had a market requirement for a granular form of their powder product. The product was used in the de-icing of ground surfaces, where vehicular safety during bad weather was of paramount importance..

The granule was required to improve the technical specification of the product, both for safety reasons and for improved efficacy of the product.