LULA, Ga.—Pinnacle Elastomeric Technology has added a 55-liter TMP tilt-body mixing line with state-of-the-art controls and a Midlands batch-off capable of handling slab and stripped materials.
The line became operational in the beginning of April, according to Pinnacle President Bob Rathbun. He said in an email interview that the company is starting to promote the addition of the mixing line.
For the past 17 years, the company has relied on 3-60 inch mills for mixing these high performance materials, Rathbun explained, but not having an internal mixing line kept it from being considered as a potential mixer for certain customers.
“We still have the 3-60 inch mills and will continue to fully utilize these to meet customer needs,” he said.
The discussion to add the internal mixing line started a couple of years ago as part of Pinnacle's long-term strategic plan.
“We had made a name for ourselves as technical experts in the field of mixing and developing high performance compounds,” Rathbun said.
He said Pinnacle exclusively mixes fluoroelastomers, HNBR, Aflas and perflouro compounds.
“We recognized a need to increase our capacity and throughput, and a mixing line made that possible,” he said. “This will also help us expand our market penetration into those customers requiring internal mixing.”
The decision was made to use the tilt-style mixer for ease of clean out between different compounds and colors. The investment in equipment was about $800,000, Rathbun said.
“Pinnacle has always held to the belief that mill mixing gives great dispersion,” he added.
“For that reason we have integrated a blending mill into the mixing line. We are still dedicated to the small- to medium-sized customers where batch size flexibility is important. Pinnacle will continue to decide on a case-by-case basis on which process best serves the customer.”
The addition of this mixing line has positioned the company for growth in its targeted segment, Rathbun said.
“We are always evaluating ways to improve our quality, testing and developmental capabilities as requirements evolve,” he said.
Pinnacle is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rex-Hide family of companies that was founded in 1998 to serve the high performance rubber product market. Rex-Hide is a debt-free company founded in 1917 that continues to invest in its companies for long-term success.
According to the company's website, custom mixing is Pinnacle's core business, and it takes extreme care to ensure that high performance and expensive rubber compounds it produces meet the most demanding quality standards.
The company is ISO 9001 certified.