Caroline and Jessica Marchante share MARCHANTE S.A.S.’ expertise in Biaxial Oriented films production for various applications, and the return of the family business to traditional trade fairs.
How did it feel to see MARCHANTE return to the traditional trade fair whilst at Chinaplas in April, and what was on show for visitors to experience?
It felt comforting to see the light at the end of the tunnel that was keeping us from meeting in person. It gave a great opportunity to our Chinese customers to discuss their current and upcoming projects more precisely. As you know, 2020 was challenging for everyone. In an industry like ours, where we spend most of our time traveling and meeting our customers, it was challenging to keep the same relationship from a distance. Anyway, we learnt how to deal with the situation, and even succeeded in starting up one of our lines in Asia remotely. Mr Chen Linbo, our Chief Representative in China, clearly said that going back to Chinaplas 2021 made industrial professionals more comfortable, and will help the market to select the suitable machinery and technology for coming developments.
MARCHANTE SAS
Girls on film
During this edition, we were finally able to present our MASIM L&S series in person. It was our focus point as the Market is evolving towards specialty and highly technical films, so we were proud to present our latest features for Simultaneous Stretching in applications such as for Battery Separator Membranes, Bi-Oriented PE for mono-material packaging, and many other applications in the electrical automotive and electronics industries.
At which other trade fairs can industry players go to learn more about MARCHANTE products?
We just took part in The Battery Show Europe Digital Days too. As our first participation, we can say it was quite memorable. It was important for us, because our MASIM Simultaneous Stretching Technology is now playing an important role in the production of ultra-thin and homogeneously balanced membranes for the EV Industry. This session helped us discuss our ideas with highly qualified companies. If the sanitary situation allows it, we will also be participating in the traditional version of the show from 30 November – 2 December 2021 in Stuttgart, Germany.
For those who didn't have the opportunity to join us this year, Interplastica will be the first on our list of events for 2022, as one of our yearly meeting points with our long-standing partners from Russia and the CIS countries. Of course, we will be able to meet at the 2022 edition of Chinaplas in April; and in October for the highly anticipated K Show in Düsseldorf. We are very much looking forward to meeting our international partners in person again.
How do MARCHANTE products help to improve performance in, for example, electric vehicles or other automotive applications?
MARCHANTE’s expertise is the development of complete lines for biaxial orientation of films, for all types of polymer-based or bio-based materials. From simple packaging to specialty films such as membranes for Lithium-ion Batteries, our goal is to help our customers produce high quality films.
In this case, the product and technology that has enhanced performance in this industry is our MASIM (MArchante SImultaneous Stretching Technology). The reasons for the success of the MASIM for this product resides in the level of flexibility of the technology:
- accurately simultaneous stretching in Machine Direction (MD) and Transverse Direction (TD) ensuring a highly homogeneous porosity of the film;
- homogeneous air circulation and temperature for a highly balanced film;
- improved thermal stabilisation to avoid shrinkage at high temperatures;
- substantially reduced side-bowing for an optimum width of high-grade film;
- higher stretching ratios up to 1:12 MD&TD; and
- adjustable stretching ratios, even during production.
All these features rely on mechanical and automation developments, which we design ourselves. We like to say that designing a simple machine is the most difficult challenge.
How do these products contribute to the continuous light-weighting of vehicles and to overall sustainability targets?
We develop our solutions according to Market Demand. When starting our MASIM technology, the market was asking for stretching ratios up to seven times per stretching direction. Today, demand in the battery industry is looking for thinner films, and consequently higher stretching ratios. That is why our MASIM S series is designed to reach a biaxial orientation ratio of 12 by 12, and produces membranes of a thickness down to 5μ, thus contributing to the light-weighting of vehicle batteries.
MARCHANTE SAS
Girls on film
Regarding sustainability targets, these are obviously one of our priorities while designing our solutions. Over the years and machinery generations, we have constantly minimised production waste and the environmental impact of the operation of our machines.
For example, by designing the thinnest clips on the market for the MASIM Technology, not only did we improve the quality of the film, but we also reduced the trim of the edges (on the clipping zone) considerably. It is almost a waste-free technology for our customers. On the other hand, our clips are completely driven mechanically, according to our specific simultaneous tenter frame design. As a consequence, the MASIM is not excessively energy consuming.
What are the distinguishing features of MARCHANTE’s showcase products and solutions?
In today's market, MARCHANTE is the only business that offers machinery capable of such flexibility in film stretching. Another example of our distinguishing features, therefore, is the MASIM L series, which is specially designed for ultra-low stretching ratios – that is, ratios under two times MD and TD – which are very difficult to achieve with a traditional tenter frame. It will be particularly used for high-temperature films that we commonly find on electronic devices such as storage devices, mobile phones and all types of connected objects.
Additionally, we have improved our heating technology, and it is now available for temperatures up to 600°C.