Although the business cycle was lower during the second half of 2019, Polykemi AB continues to deliver positive results. One contributing factor, according to the Ystad, Sweden, based company, is a new and highly efficient extruding line – its largest single machine investment so far.

Polykemi
Historic machine investment at Polykemi
The investment has given Polykemi better possibilities to meet market demands. The new double screw 92mm extruder from Coperion has replaced and older line and is expected to increase production capacity on larger volume productions by up to 5,000 tonnes per year. It is connected to an automatic raw material handling system, further increasing the accuracy of the recipes and improving the already high quality of the products.
Peter Åkesson, Technical Manager, said: “Now we have reached a new level of efficiency that has further increased the accuracy of our products. We have also minimised heavy lifts for our employees. This new production line is today our most productive unit. It is an asset for both the Polykemi Group and for our customers.”
Due to the new machine, the total yearly capacity of the Ystad factory has increased to more than 70,000 tonnes.
In 2019, another extruding line was installed to produce high-quality flame-retardant plastic materials.
During the past five years, the Polykemi Group has seen a volume growth of almost 22,000 tonnes. In 2019, the positive trend continued.
Polykemi Sales Manager Mattias Persson said: “Although we can see a slowdown in the business cycle, Polykemi has had a very nice year. We have taken more than 100 new businesses and we have grown more than 4,000 tonnes of plastic granules during the year. It is incredibly gratifying that, despite historically high levels in recent years, we again manage to match our numbers.”