For safety, energy savings, Shannon exhibits thermal insulation at Plastec West

NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. – March 30, 2022 – Shannon Global Energy Solutions—which engineers and manufactures reusable acoustic and thermal insulation for a sustainable planet—will showcase its thermal and reusable insulation blankets for the plastics industry at Plastec West from April 12-14, 2022, in the Anaheim Convention Center (Booth 3964). Shannon’s solutions include its INSULTECH® line, designed specifically for the plastics industry and manufactured according to standards and specifications tested by ASTM, ISO, and UL. Facility owners can use Shannon’s thermal insulation blankets on any style extruder, extruder barrels, heads and injection and blow molding equipment to slash energy consumption, stop radiant heat loss, and boost safety.

Shannon partnered with Calpacific Equipment Company to install a Shannon model LT550SG blanket on a Davis-Standard extruder operated by NDS, Inc., the nation’s leading provider of stormwater management products. NDS uses this extruder to make polyethylene irrigation tubing.

“The focus was worker safety, but we quickly learned covering our line’s extruder heads with removable-reusable insulation blankets saved energy,” said Charles Eisenhauer, plant manager for NDS.

 Davis-Standard extruder blanketed with Shannon reusable insulation at an NDS facility in Fresno, Calif.

“We did a safety-risk assessment on our extruder and realized when our workers swap out pins and dyes to manufacture different size pipe, they get very close to the machine’s extruder heads, which can reach temperatures of 400 degrees Fahrenheit.”

NDS called Calpacific. The distributor surveyed and measured the extruder and determined Shannon could manufacture reusable insulation blankets for the extruder heads linked to both the 3.5-inch extruders.

“Once the blankets were on the extruder heads, the surface temperature of the blanket was 127 degrees Fahrenheit,” added Eisenhauer. “With Shannon blankets on the extruder heads, our machine’s heaters weren’t doing as much work to keep the polyethylene at an optimal temperature; we noticed the heaters were cycling on and off more. That was an energy savings for us right there.”

 IR images of the extruder with the blankets in place show the exposed surface (see arrow) is 149.5 C; the adjoining insulated surface is 53 C.

Surfaces covered with Shannon solutions show an estimated heat loss reduction of 85 percent. The energy payback on the blankets for NDS was less than 12 months, and the savings continues as long as the blankets last, which can be 30 years.

About Shannon Global Energy Solutions

Since 1988, Shannon has engineered and manufactured insulation solutions for energy conservation, thermal efficiency, noise reduction and safety. With its CAD-CNC-ERP approach from design to manufacturing, Shannon is the world leader for reusable and removable insulation with facilities in the U.S. and Europe.