Nordson Has Built a Production Line that Enables the Company to Deliver a New BKG Die Plate in Just 3 Weeks, Reducing Downtime and Increasing Flexibility for Customers
Nordson Corporation has built a dedicated production line for BKG die plates used in underwater pelletizing, enabling the company to deliver a new electrically heated die plate in only three weeks after order placement, including order entry, engineering, and production. This is less than half of competitors’ delivery times.
While most common die plates are on stock and can be delivered within a couple of days, building a new plate requires a range of engineering and manufacturing steps. By creating a database of standard designs, Nordson has eliminated upstream engineering processes that had contributed to longer lead times. To reduce manufacturing time, it has dedicated a complete production line to die plates. The line is part of an extensive new facility for BKG pelletizing and melt delivery products completed in Münster last year.
While the dedicated line produces only two-piece, electrically heated die plates in the BKG A, AH, Compact, and AHD190 families, these standard designs constitute the largest share of Nordson’s die plate output. At the same time, the company continues to produce die plates based on custom designs, as well as oil-heated die plates.
Die plates are wear components which periodically must be refurbished or replaced in order to maintain required levels of productivity and product quality. “The dedicated production line for die plates enables Nordson to meet the needs of customers much more quickly, helping then to reduce downtime and maintain product quality,” said Andreas Trouvain, Sales Director EMEA. “We continue to expand the range of designs that can be produced in this line, and we are looking for more ways to shorten the processes upstream and downstream of die plate production in order to make lead times even shorter.”
The BKG A, AH, Compact, and AHD190 families of die plates are available with the most common nozzle bore diameters. Optional features include several different carbide inlays, thermal insulation layers, pressure reduction, staggered rows of nozzle bores, and both standard and short land lengths.