German masterbatch and compound manufacturer Treffert (Bingen; www.treffert.org) has taken a further step to expand production. It recently installed a new twin-screw "ZSK 32 Mc18" smart extruder with a screw diameter of 32 mm at Treffert SAS in Ste-Marie-aux-Chênes in the French region of Lorraine. The extruder was built by machine manufacturer Coperion (Stuttgart / Germany; www.coperion.com). It has now gone on stream and will produce primarily masterbatches and concentrates for sensitive laser and functional applications in medical technology, pharmaceuticals and automotive, explained Heinrich Treffert, who now heads the company.

Treffert cooperated as a partner in the development of the new Coperion extruder. Coperion's technical know-how was combined with Treffert's experience as a long-time user of this technology to design the new machine. Because of Treffert’s increasing specialisation in medical applications and sophisticated optical functional materials, purity specifications have maximum priority.

Among other things, the partners stress the easy and safe cleaning of the machine. "The new twin-screw extruder enables fast batch changes, which means that we can react more quickly and flexibly to customer requests," said Heinrich Treffert.