Small Fuel Tanks New Emissions Rules Spur Hunt for Barrier Solutions

By Joseph A. Grande, Senior Editor, PlasticsTechnology

New and stricter fuel-permeation regulations are pushing processors to consider a range of barrier technologies for portable fuel containers (jerry cans) and small-engine fuel tanks. Monolayer HDPE containers and tanks won’t meet new fuel vapor emissions standards from the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which are becoming de facto standards for the whole country.

Among the process alternatives under consideration are multilayer coextrusion blow molding (similar to that used in automotive fuel tanks), fluorination surface treatment, and monolayer blow molding with a special barrier additive. For lower volume applications, rotomolders are also being forced to consider various multilayer approaches.

States follow California

While California has taken the lead role in emissions control, manufacturers fully expect that other states will soon follow with similar legislation. In addition, California’s requirements generally dictate the standard for products distributed nationwide.

For portable fuel containers, CARB’s new regulations limit vapor emissions to 0.4 g/gal/day, effective June 2007. That’s a 33% reduction from the current limit of 0.6 g/gal/day. By 2009, the law will be toughened even further, with emissions limited to 0.3 g/gal/day.

Small off-road engine (SORE) fuel tanks for weed trimmers, leaf blowers, lawn mowers, tractors, and generators previously had no fuel-emission requirements. In January 2007, the limit mandated by CARB will be 2.5 g/m2/day for engines with displacements less than 225 cc. In January 2008, the same limits will affect engines with displacements greater than 225 cc. By January 2012, the fuel permeation limit will be tightened even further to 1.5 g/m2/day.

However, California’s SORE regulations has hit a roadblock because of a 2004 Congressional amendment that pre-empts state rules and instead calls for EPA to propose a federal law.

Meanwhile, the U.S. EPA already has enacted fuel-permeation regulations for recreational vehicles and motorcycle fuel tanks that limit emissions to 1.5 g/m2/day. This will take effect for the 2008 model year. Both CARB and EPA are said to be writing new permeation requirements for marine fuel tanks.

Further adoption of the CARB regulations for portable fuel containers is just a matter of time, according to the Ozone Transport Commission (OTC), a Washington, D.C.-based governmental organization that represents 12 eastern states and the District of Columbia. Adoption on a state-by-state basis is expected in 2008-2009.

Multilayer: tried & true

Multilayer extrusion blow molding is a familiar process used to produce automotive fuel tanks for more than a decade. Not surprisingly, it has gained an early following as a barrier solution for smaller tanks and containers.

Coextruded six-layer HDPE/EVOH portable fuel containers are being manufactured by leading producers such as Blitz USA, Inc., Miami, Okla., and Midwest Can Co. in Melrose Park, Ill. Both companies are using Bekum’s continuous-extrusion model BM705D to make jerry cans. Blitz is molding up to 5-gal sizes and Midwest Can makes up to 2-gal containers.

They are using a standard Bekum shuttle machine that is tailored for portable fuel containers, according to Bekum general sales manager Gary Carr. The machine is enhanced with an expanded extruder base, coextrusion head, and special controls. A special pinch-off design ensures weld-seam integrity and drop-impact resistance.

Bekum sees similar opportunities in small-engine fuel tanks but the market is “trickier,” Carr says, because of varied tank sizes and smaller annual volumes. Bekum has moved proactively by building a six-layer development line that will be installed this month at its Michigan headquarters. The machine, a model BA14 coex, produces small fuel tanks and containers up to 5 gal. The BA series has larger platens than BM machines in order to mold larger parts. The BA14 will be shown at NPE in Chicago this June.

FGH Systems has sold several continuous-extrusion coex machines to jerry-can makers for HDPE/EVOH containers up to 5 gal. These Uniloy B&W UMS 35D horizontal-shuttle units come in single- and double-station versions. Cycle times for jerry cans are 40 to 50 sec. The 38.5-ton machine accommodates products with multiple handles and threads and performs all trimming and finishing at the machine.

Fuel-systems supplier Walbro Engine Management in Tucson, Ariz., is entering the small-engine fuel-tank market with a six-layer, continuous-extrusion coex machine from MBK Blowmolding Machinery. The single-head, dual-clamp machine, called the TBA220D, molds HDPE/EVOH tanks up to 20 liters for weed trimmers, lawn mowers, and leaf blowers. For these small tanks, a recessed pinch-off is used to prevent a protrusion above the tank’s surface. Walbro has programs with three lawn and garden manufacturers and is also exploring multilayer tanks for all-terrain vehicles.

Other blow molders of six-layer, HDPE/EVOH small fuel tanks include Agri-Industrial, Fairfield, Iowa, and AcroTech, Watertown, S.D. Both use Kautex KBS series continuous-extrusion machines.

Monolayer options revived

For processing simplicity and minimal equipment and tooling cost, manufacturers would prefer a monolayer structure for these fuel containers and tanks. One choice is fluorination post-treatment of molded monolayer HDPE articles. While many observers question the economics of fluorination, Fluoro-Seal International claims the process is cost-competitive because it avoids the capital cost of a coex machine and the expense of a barrier resin. Fluoro-Seal is the only North American firm that provides post-molding fluorination services. While many sources believe the post-treatment process is more expensive due to the cost of shipping tanks back and forth to a treatment facility, Fluoro-Seal has eliminated that cost for two of its customers by setting up on-site treatment at their plants.

For fluorination, molded tanks or containers are typically placed in a sealed reactor and exposed to a measured amount of fluorine gas under controlled conditions. Fluorine bonds chemically to the HDPE outer surface. The reaction forms a thin fluorinated surface layer with heightened chemical stability and hydrocarbon barrier protection. Fluoro-Seal has reached agreements with makers of jerry cans up to 5 gal and fuel tanks for lawn mowers and weed trimmers.

Blending a barrier resin or additive with monolayer HDPE eliminates the need for post-treatment. The main option of this sort is DuPont’s Selar RB, which is said to be enjoying a revival of interest for fuel tanks and containers. This modified nylon with a proprietary compatibilizer is blended with HDPE and molded on standard monolayer extrusion blow equipment. The result is a laminar microstructure in which the barrier resin forms stacks of large overlapping platelets or discontinuous layers within the container wall, which limit permeation by creating a “tortuous path” for molecules attempting to diffuse through the plastic.

Although the process is proven, a DuPont spokesman admits that “you have to learn to process the material correctly.” Precise temperature control and some hardware modifications such as a special screw are required.

Scepter Corp., a blow molder in Scarborough, Ont., is using Selar RB in its monolayer HDPE EcoGas cans of up to 6 gal. Selar RB has not yet found use in small-engine fuel tanks but DuPont is pursuing such applications.

Another monolayer solution is proposed by GE Plastics. Its Xenoy PC/PBT alloy is a chemically resistant, high-impact, uv-stable material that reportedly can meet CARB standards for small-engine fuel tanks. GE is currently emphasizing injection molding of its Xenoy 6620U into two tank halves that would be welded together. GE is also developing blow molding grades to meet CARB requirements.

The rotomolding option

Stricter emissions standards have also affected manufacturers of small-engine tanks rotomolded of monolayer HDPE. These tanks for motorcycles, tractors, and recreational vehicles are generally bigger and more complex than small blow molded tanks, and the production volumes are smaller. To address the CARB regulations, Arkema has developed a two-layer rotomolded barrier system called PetroSeal. Because of its effective barrier performance, users of this approach are said to be exempted by CARB from costly fuel-permeation testing.

Arkema’s system has a barrier layer of Rilsan nylon 11 inside a shell of metallocene MDPE from sister company Total Petrochemicals in Houston. The nylon layer is deposited over the MDPE layer by means of an insulated chamber, or drop box. A 4-mm-thick tank typically has 1 mm of nylon and 3 mm of PE.

Arkema also has developed a “one-shot” rotomolding process that enables both materials to be introduced into the mold simultaneously without the need for a drop box. The process makes use of the fact that the MDPE melts and fuses first, at around 120 C (250 F), while the nylon melts at about 185 C (365 F). PetroSeal technology is currently undergoing field testing.

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Fuel tank rules drive multilayer machines
By Bill Bregar

Rules from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the influential California Air Resources Board are cutting hydrocarbon emissions from small fuel tanks. Under EPA guidelines, new fuel tanks must be in production by 2007. Many of the tanks will appear on 2008 models.

Kautex Machines Inc., already a leading supplier of multilayer blow molding machines for automotive fuel tanks, is getting lots of interest — and winning sales — from custom blow molders and small-tank makers, said Wolfgang Meyer, president of the company in North Branch, N.J.

The sophisticated, six-layer blow molding machines are assembled in Bonn, Germany, by Kautex Maschinenbau GmbH.

Makers of automotive gas tanks are huge companies, able to pull the trigger on a major capital expense like the Kautex machines. For the new type of six-layer machine customer, typically a small company, it’s a huge decision to buy one of the giant, expensive machines.
Officials of two new Kautex six-layer owners, AcroTech Midwest Inc. and Agri-Industrial Plastics Co., said the blow molding machines are their largest-ever single capital investment.

AcroTech Midwest

Fuel-tank specialist AcroTech has purchased its first six-layer machine. All of its existing blow molding lines made single-layer tanks.

“About 75-80 percent of our business is fuel tanks, and that drove us in that direction,” said Don Miller, AcroTech’s director of sales and marketing. The company makes tanks for personal watercraft, boats, golf carts, snowmobiles and similar vehicles.

“We have to invest in this to maintain our customer base,” Miller said.

He said AcroTech is getting into fuel tanks for riding lawn mowers, using the Kautex machine as leverage.

AcroTech bought a dual-platen, double-station machine with robotic transfer. The platens are stationary. As the parison comes out of the extrusion head, a robot moves the parison to each platen for molding.

The massive continuous extrusion machine can pump out 4,840 pounds of plastic an hour.

Ken Carter, vice president of technical services, traveled to Bonn in early September for the final runoff. The machine is scheduled to be at AcroTech’s plant in Watertown, S.D., this month. Carter said the company hopes to run the first parts in December.

“The reason we went with a dual-platen was to run multiple jobs, so that I can handle the lower volumes that are nonautomotive,” Carter said. Technicians can shut off one mold for mold changes or other maintenance, while the other mold keeps running.

Carter said AcroTech also bought an automated finishing station, with four robots, including robotic cutting, trimming and a Bielomatic welding system.

For AcroTech, the new machine was a key reason officials decided last year to move the company from Riverton, Minn., to South Dakota, where it has more than 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space and rail access.

Miller said AcroTech invested $10 million for the building and equipment. It marked the largest investment ever for AcroTech, which generated $25 million in sales last year.

AcroTech’s existing fuel-tank customers are ready to buy the new tanks. “They’re not being caught off guard” by the environmental regulations, Miller said. As word spreads that the company has the machine, calls are coming in from potential new customers, he added.

Miller said AcroTech plans to order a second six-layer Kautex within a year. But it’s a big decision. “We’re trying to expand our markets, too, but we also have to make sure we can take care of our existing customers,” he said.

Agri-Industrial

Lori Schaefer remembers the date in late August when seven semi-trucks’ worth of components arrived in Fairfield, Iowa, bearing components for Agri-Industrial’s first six-layer blow molding machine. A crew assembled the machine, and the company hoped to be running test parts by November or December, she said.

“It’s just a huge machine. It’s really hard to even describe it without seeing it,” said Schaefer, director of business development. She is the daughter of Agri-Industrial President Dick Smith.

Buying the six-layer Kautex was a big decision at Agri-Industrial, a custom industrial blow molder with 20 machines. The family-owned company does not release sales figures.

Schaefer said getting into six-layer blow molding has helped create new business in fuel tanks. “The strategy has worked well because it’s gotten us in early, into conversations with these customers that have to meet these [emissions] standards,” she said.

Agri-Industrial followed up the six-layer machine buy by ordering two more Kautex machines — these units are single-layer Kautex KT-75S machines. Each machine has a 20-layer accumulator head, and 78-ton single clamps.

Meanwhile, Kautex is promoting the return of U.S. manufacturing of its monolayer accumulator-head machines — for the first time since the company closed its in-house assembly in New Jersey in 2003. Epco Machinery LLC is assembling the machines at its factory in Fremont, Ohio, using heads supplied by Kautex in Germany. Meyer said Kautex is sourcing other major components from the United States, including the extruder and gearbox, hydraulics, barrel and screw.

Epco does final assembly. “Basically, we are their factory,” Epco President Steve Schroeder said.

The Fremont plant, which also remanufactures plastics machinery, has high ceilings and overhead cranes.

Schroeder said the partnership began last year.

Meyer said making Kautex single-layer industrial blow molding machines in the United States, instead of Germany, makes sense to reduce costs and speed delivery. The two new KT machines are scheduled for delivery to Agri-Industrial in December, he said.

Agri-Industrial’s Schaefer said the six-layer machine has generated general industrial work. “There’s a lot of people who want to talk to us about the coex. That’s opened the door for people,” she said.

Meyer said U.S. assembly should help Kautex, as U.S. business for monolayer accumulator-head machines begins to pick up gradually from the low levels of recent years.

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Agri-Industrial Plastics Profits from Thinking Ahead: Dick Smith got in on the ground floor of the growing blow-molded plastics industry
The Fairfield Ledger, August 26, 2005
Annual Progress Edition
By MacKenzie Horras

From its entrance facing North 22nd Street , the Agri-Industrial Plastics factory does not appear exceptionally large. But a step inside and a walk down the hallway of the company's two main buildings reveals that there is a lot more to Agri-Industrial Plastics than initially meets the eye. More than 140,000 square feet more, to be exact.

The Agri-Industrial building's low profile just south of The Dexter laundry plant seems to parallel the company's low profile in the Fairfield community. For almost three decades, Agri-Industrial Plastics has maintained steady growth under the leadership of its founder and president Dick Smith. Today, its clients include some of the biggest names in industries from agriculture to home and garden care.

Agri-Industrial Plastics specializes in "blow molding," a process in which air is blown into a piece of melted plastic, creating a light, hollow tube that can be pressed into many shapes and sizes to suit a variety of purposes. The company produces products ranging from orange construction cones, to flower pots, to children's toys -- even the plastic "Koala" baby changing tables found in public restrooms were originally designed and produced at Agri-Industrial Plastics.

The company has come a long way since its foundation in 1978. An engineer by trade, Smith had worked in Hartford , Conn. , St. Louis , Mo. , and Bonaparte before moving his family to Fairfield in order to open Agri-Industrial Plastics. Smith's company started out in a small factory located next to Orschlen Farm and Home Supply. In its first few years, Agri-Industrial Plastics had only four employees and one blow-molding machine. Smith's first customer was a company that produced plastic pig feeders, and he is proud to say his first customer is still a valued customer today.

According to Smith, the plastic blow molding industry was totally new in the 1970s. Through his engineering work at other companies, Smith caught on to the trend. When the opportunity presented itself, Smith decided to strike out on his own and start a company specializing in blow molding.

"I had worked for 10 years in this type of industry so I had a background as far as the process goes and I could see new applications coming," said Smith. "This particular type of process was just starting out at the time."

At first, Smith was teased about creating products from blow molded plastic.

"We developed a plastic pig feeder that people laughed at us for but it was very successful," he said. "To this day, we still make hog equipment. When we developed the drainage system for Hickenbottom [Tile] we were laughed at but it's been one of the most successful soil conservation pieces."

Sales manager Stew Gaumer, who has been at Agri-Industrial Plastics for more than 20 years, said his first few years at the company were spent educating companies about the benefits of blow molded products.

"It started back then as a missionary effort," said Gaumer. "And that missionary effort was basically an educational process of teaching the customer just what blow-molding is all about ... the next step was to convince them to do it. And normally they saw the cost savings and the cost savings was what excited them."

Once manufacturers understood the quality and economy of blow molded products, business began to grow. Agri-Industrial Plastics added a few clients each year and three years later, the company moved out of its location on Highway 34 and into its current location on North 23rd Street .

"We moved into this building in 1981," said Smith. "Since that time, we have added on I think seven times."

At the time Agri-Industrial Plastics moved to its current location, it expanded from operating one to three molding machines. Two decades later, the company uses 18 blow molding machines, several of which are equipped to produce larger and more sophisticated products than the company had initially made. Although it had not been his goal to expand, Smith says that he has always r emai ned adaptable to the needs of his customers. As customer demand for blow molded products grew, so did Agri-Industrial Plastics.

"I would have been very happy to go on with the three machines we had when we moved over here," said Smith. "We were doing well, we had probably 10 or 12 people, we were having fun making things. As things went well, we would add something to take care of the growth. We had some good sales. We developed something for one person it would go over to someone else. And because it was a new industry, it was something that hadn't been done before. I think that's what has really driven the business, the development end of it."

Product development is just one important component of the work done at Agri-Industrial Plastics. Unlike some manufacturers who simply produce a product and send it off to its customer, Agri-Industrial Plastics works directly with its clients to conceptualize, design, engineer, and finally create the product.

"We're a little different from just the regular manufacturer because we work on the design and development of a lot of different products," said Lori Schaefer, Director of Business Development and Smith's daughter. "We have a very strong engineering department that gives us our competitive advantage. We get involved with customers' design and then we stay with them all the way through shipping it out the door."

Agri-Industrial Plastics also prides itself on its strong production, quality control and customer services departments which help ensure that products are delivered on schedule and that the customer is satisfied with the result. The company is divided into several "functional areas," ranging from Engineering to Sales, which communicate with one another on a daily basis to coordinate the total production effort.

"Because we're a relatively small company, most everything we do is on a team basis," said engineer Geoff Ward. "Engineering and sales, purchasing, all have to be together on the same page. We get Quality involved, Production has got to be involved, so there is a core group working on every project. I don't know how we would function if we didn't work that way. Each aspect needs to be considered in the planning stages. Communication among all the units is critical."

Many staff members say that the small size and close coordination within Agri-Industrial Plastics makes it relatively easy to keep a team environment intact. But the company has plans for significant expansion that may challenge that close-knit atmosphere. This past week the company began installing a new "Co-Extrusion Machine" designed to produce six-layer fuel tanks for non-automotive vehicles such as snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and off-highway motorcycles. The machine is used specifically to create a type of gas tank that the Environmental Protection Agency will begin requiring manufacturers to use in model year 2008. Agri-Industrial Plastics is one of two companies in the United States to own this sort of production equipment.

"It's a whole different technology that's going to allow us to make a technologically advanced fuel tank that the people like Yamaha, Arctic Cat, Polaris... will need," said Schaefer. "A new EPA regulation that says, by model year 2008, you must have fuel tanks with this six-layer design. And none of them do right now. We are the first company in the United States to order this type of machine for non-automotive production."

In addition to adding the new Co-Extrusion machine this fall, Agri-Industrial Plastics will be purchasing two new production blow molding machines before the end of 2005. According to Schaefer, the new equipment is being added in order to increase the company's "production capacity". This increase in production capacity will also require an increase in workers.

"We're probably looking to increase at least 30 percent, if not more," said director of human resources Brett Ferrel.

In order to accommodate all aspects of the growth, the company has recently hired another engineer, increasing its professional engineering staff from two to three workers. New office space with meeting rooms and training facilities is under construction and the customer service department is also training new staff. In addition, Smith's daughter, Lori Schaefer, has recently moved home from Chicago to join the family business. Schaefer has been competing several expansion-related tasks including marketing and public relations.

Staff members said they are both excited and anxious about the effects of adding a Co-Extrusion Machine.

"This new machine coming in, on one hand, is going to be a big challenge, but I think it's going to be an exciting challenge," said Ward. "A lot of learning is going to take place. There's going to be some frustration along the way too, but I think it will be positive ... We have grown to the point that we have to be a little more structured in how we conduct business, but I like to think there is always going to be a good team in place."

Ferrel, who worked at Agri-Industrial Plastics as a teenager and returned to the company as an adult, says he believes that the company will be able to retain its intimate atmosphere after the expansions take place.

"This growth is a good thing, it's kind of a scary thing for us who have been around for awhile," said Ferrel. "We don't want to change the values of the company. They're the reason we come to work and the reason the employees come to work."

No matter how much the company grows and changes, Schaefer says that she and the management staff will always strive to retain the same small-company feel that it had when her father founded Agri-Industrial Plastics in 1978.

"People like to work here because they are respected and we value them," said Schaefer. "We want this to be a positive environment. All of the good things about a small company, we want to keep."

Press Release: Agri-Industrial Plastics Company Continues to Expand Production Capacity with U.S. Manufactured Kautex Blow Molding Equipment

Fairfield, Iowa, August 18, 2005 ? Agri-Industrial Plastics Company (AIP) today announced the purchase of two new Kautex KT-75S blow molding machines. The KT-75S machines are equipped with 12 liter/300 mm (20lbs.) accumulator heads, 78-ton single clamps, 100 mm/25D extruders, and Barber Colman MACO DS microprocessor control and integrated PC HMI. Both machines will be manufactured in the United States and will be delivered in December of 2005. With these latest additions, AIP will have a total of 20 production blow molding machines.

?The loyalty to us as AIP's blow molding equipment supplier is certainly gratifying and plays a significant role in our strategy to continue offering U.S. built industrial blow molding machines to our customer base,? said Wolfgang Meyer, president of Kautex Machines, Inc. in North Branch, NJ. Subsequent to the closing of the Kautex in-house assembly in 2003, the company searched for solutions to build its successful CP and KT series machines domestically avoiding the negative effects of unfavorable exchange rates and longer delivery times of its German built equivalents.

Kautex collaborated with Epco LLC of Fremont, OH as contract assembler. Kautex Machines uses its own resources to design and engineer the equipment to Kautex' high quality standards and technological advances that customers have become accustomed to. Core components are sourced from within the Kautex organization and provided to Epco for assembly. ?The relationship with Epco is in its second year and the quality of machines completed by Epco has more than satisfied even the most critical customer,? added Meyer. ?As business will be picking up gradually from its low levels in 2004 and early 2005, customers can continue to experience the benefits of owning a Kautex blow molding machine manufactured in the U.S.?

AIP's announcement to further expand production capacity follows the company's July 2004 purchase of a new Kautex 6-layer co-extrusion blow molding machine. The technologically advanced co-extrusion machine will manufacture non-automotive 6-layer fuel tanks in accordance with the new EPA regulations for ATVs, snowmobiles, and off-highway motorcycles. Installation of the co-extrusion machine at AIP will begin on August 22, 2005. AIP is already working closely with customers in the design and engineering phase of these fuel tanks in order to meet the required 56 weeks of EPA testing.

About Agri-Industrial Plastics Company: Agri-Industrial Plastics Company (AIP) is a custom, large-part plastics blow molder founded in 1978. AIP serves a diversified customer base. AIP offers expertise in part design, mold design, part production, and assembly. Through each phase of the process, AIP provides the highest quality service and products to their customers. For more information, visit www.agriindustrialplastics.com or email sales@agriindustrialplastics.com.

About Kautex Machines, Inc.: Kautex Machines, Inc. is located in North Branch, NJ and was founded as Krupp Plastics & Rubber Machinery (USA), Inc. in 1985. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kautex Machinenbau GmbH of Bonn, Germany. Kautex Machines, Inc. markets and services Kautex blow molding equipment manufactured in Germany, China and the USA for industrial and packaging applications throughout the entire Americas. For more information, visit www.kautex-group.com or email kautexmachines@kautex-group.com.

About Epco LLC: Epco is located in Fremont, OH. Founded in 1959, Epco manufactures, remanufactures and services all types of machinery for the plastics and die casting industry. For more information, visit www.epcollc.com.

Agri-Industrial Plastics Profits from Thinking Ahead: Dick Smith got in on the ground floor of the growing blow-molded plastics industry
The Fairfield Ledger, August 26, 2005
Annual Progress Edition
By MacKenzie Horras

From its entrance facing North 22nd Street , the Agri-Industrial Plastics factory does not appear exceptionally large. But a step inside and a walk down the hallway of the company's two main buildings reveals that there is a lot more to Agri-Industrial Plastics than initially meets the eye. More than 140,000 square feet more, to be exact.

The Agri-Industrial building's low profile just south of The Dexter laundry plant seems to parallel the company's low profile in the Fairfield community. For almost three decades, Agri-Industrial Plastics has maintained steady growth under the leadership of its founder and president Dick Smith. Today, its clients include some of the biggest names in industries from agriculture to home and garden care.

Agri-Industrial Plastics specializes in "blow molding," a process in which air is blown into a piece of melted plastic, creating a light, hollow tube that can be pressed into many shapes and sizes to suit a variety of purposes. The company produces products ranging from orange construction cones, to flower pots, to children's toys -- even the plastic "Koala" baby changing tables found in public restrooms were originally designed and produced at Agri-Industrial Plastics.

The company has come a long way since its foundation in 1978. An engineer by trade, Smith had worked in Hartford , Conn. , St. Louis , Mo. , and Bonaparte before moving his family to Fairfield in order to open Agri-Industrial Plastics. Smith's company started out in a small factory located next to Orschlen Farm and Home Supply. In its first few years, Agri-Industrial Plastics had only four employees and one blow-molding machine. Smith's first customer was a company that produced plastic pig feeders, and he is proud to say his first customer is still a valued customer today.

According to Smith, the plastic blow molding industry was totally new in the 1970s. Through his engineering work at other companies, Smith caught on to the trend. When the opportunity presented itself, Smith decided to strike out on his own and start a company specializing in blow molding.

"I had worked for 10 years in this type of industry so I had a background as far as the process goes and I could see new applications coming," said Smith. "This particular type of process was just starting out at the time."

At first, Smith was teased about creating products from blow molded plastic.

"We developed a plastic pig feeder that people laughed at us for but it was very successful," he said. "To this day, we still make hog equipment. When we developed the drainage system for Hickenbottom [Tile] we were laughed at but it's been one of the most successful soil conservation pieces."

Sales manager Stew Gaumer, who has been at Agri-Industrial Plastics for more than 20 years, said his first few years at the company were spent educating companies about the benefits of blow molded products.

"It started back then as a missionary effort," said Gaumer. "And that missionary effort was basically an educational process of teaching the customer just what blow-molding is all about ... the next step was to convince them to do it. And normally they saw the cost savings and the cost savings was what excited them."

Once manufacturers understood the quality and economy of blow molded products, business began to grow. Agri-Industrial Plastics added a few clients each year and three years later, the company moved out of its location on Highway 34 and into its current location on North 23rd Street .

"We moved into this building in 1981," said Smith. "Since that time, we have added on I think seven times."

At the time Agri-Industrial Plastics moved to its current location, it expanded from operating one to three molding machines. Two decades later, the company uses 18 blow molding machines, several of which are equipped to produce larger and more sophisticated products than the company had initially made. Although it had not been his goal to expand, Smith says that he has always r emai ned adaptable to the needs of his customers. As customer demand for blow molded products grew, so did Agri-Industrial Plastics.

"I would have been very happy to go on with the three machines we had when we moved over here," said Smith. "We were doing well, we had probably 10 or 12 people, we were having fun making things. As things went well, we would add something to take care of the growth. We had some good sales. We developed something for one person it would go over to someone else. And because it was a new industry, it was something that hadn't been done before. I think that's what has really driven the business, the development end of it."

Product development is just one important component of the work done at Agri-Industrial Plastics. Unlike some manufacturers who simply produce a product and send it off to its customer, Agri-Industrial Plastics works directly with its clients to conceptualize, design, engineer, and finally create the product.

"We're a little different from just the regular manufacturer because we work on the design and development of a lot of different products," said Lori Schaefer, Director of Business Development and Smith's daughter. "We have a very strong engineering department that gives us our competitive advantage. We get involved with customers' design and then we stay with them all the way through shipping it out the door."

Agri-Industrial Plastics also prides itself on its strong production, quality control and customer services departments which help ensure that products are delivered on schedule and that the customer is satisfied with the result. The company is divided into several "functional areas," ranging from Engineering to Sales, which communicate with one another on a daily basis to coordinate the total production effort.

"Because we're a relatively small company, most everything we do is on a team basis," said engineer Geoff Ward. "Engineering and sales, purchasing, all have to be together on the same page. We get Quality involved, Production has got to be involved, so there is a core group working on every project. I don't know how we would function if we didn't work that way. Each aspect needs to be considered in the planning stages. Communication among all the units is critical."

Many staff members say that the small size and close coordination within Agri-Industrial Plastics makes it relatively easy to keep a team environment intact. But the company has plans for significant expansion that may challenge that close-knit atmosphere. This past week the company began installing a new "Co-Extrusion Machine" designed to produce six-layer fuel tanks for non-automotive vehicles such as snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and off-highway motorcycles. The machine is used specifically to create a type of gas tank that the Environmental Protection Agency will begin requiring manufacturers to use in model year 2008. Agri-Industrial Plastics is one of two companies in the United States to own this sort of production equipment.

"It's a whole different technology that's going to allow us to make a technologically advanced fuel tank that the people like Yamaha, Arctic Cat, Polaris... will need," said Schaefer. "A new EPA regulation that says, by model year 2008, you must have fuel tanks with this six-layer design. And none of them do right now. We are the first company in the United States to order this type of machine for non-automotive production."

In addition to adding the new Co-Extrusion machine this fall, Agri-Industrial Plastics will be purchasing two new production blow molding machines before the end of 2005. According to Schaefer, the new equipment is being added in order to increase the company's "production capacity". This increase in production capacity will also require an increase in workers.

"We're probably looking to increase at least 30 percent, if not more," said director of human resources Brett Ferrel.

In order to accommodate all aspects of the growth, the company has recently hired another engineer, increasing its professional engineering staff from two to three workers. New office space with meeting rooms and training facilities is under construction and the customer service department is also training new staff. In addition, Smith's daughter, Lori Schaefer, has recently moved home from Chicago to join the family business. Schaefer has been competing several expansion-related tasks including marketing and public relations.

Staff members said they are both excited and anxious about the effects of adding a Co-Extrusion Machine.

"This new machine coming in, on one hand, is going to be a big challenge, but I think it's going to be an exciting challenge," said Ward. "A lot of learning is going to take place. There's going to be some frustration along the way too, but I think it will be positive ... We have grown to the point that we have to be a little more structured in how we conduct business, but I like to think there is always going to be a good team in place."

Ferrel, who worked at Agri-Industrial Plastics as a teenager and returned to the company as an adult, says he believes that the company will be able to retain its intimate atmosphere after the expansions take place.

"This growth is a good thing, it's kind of a scary thing for us who have been around for awhile," said Ferrel. "We don't want to change the values of the company. They're the reason we come to work and the reason the employees come to work."

No matter how much the company grows and changes, Schaefer says that she and the management staff will always strive to retain the same small-company feel that it had when her father founded Agri-Industrial Plastics in 1978.

"People like to work here because they are respected and we value them," said Schaefer. "We want this to be a positive environment. All of the good things about a small company, we want to keep."

Environmental Law Fuels Mulitlayer Effort
Plastics News, August 2, 2004
By Rhoda Miel
Plastics News Staff

First, automakers adopted multilayer technology to reduce emissions from their plastic fuel tanks. Now the makers of powered off-road equipment – including lawn mowers, snowmobiles, boats and all-terrain vehicles – are following suit.

Pending changes in environmental regulations is prompting equipment manufacturers and their suppliers to invest in multi-layer production capacity.

"We're taking everything one step at a time and working with our customers." Dick Smith, President of Agri-Industrial Plastics Co., said July 28 by telephone.

The Fairfield, Iowa-based blow molder has purchased a Kautex coextrusion blow molding machine to make six-layer tanks for ATV's, water scooters and other off-road equipment. Those systems will replace monolayer tanks and will be required under an Environmental Protection Agency rule change taking effect in 2008.

Auto industry veteran Duane Fish launched Advanced Polymer Concepts Inc. in Fenton, Mich., earlier this year to design and thermoform multilayer tanks for lawn and garden equipment to meet California Air Resource Board requirements that will be phased in during 2006.

"There's really going to be a lot of turmoil coming up," Fish said. "Right now, we're in the beginning stages of a lot of issues."

The basic concern behind the new regulations is similar to those environmental and health issues that prompted emission controls for cars and trucks. The reasoning, Fish noted, is that it does little good to keep clamping down on regulations for cars and trucks while ignoring thousands of small engines.

A 2003 study for CARB noted that lawn and garden equipment tanks with less than a one-quart capacity – such as those on trimmers and edgers – generate substantially more emissions than modern cars and trucks while in use, or even while standing idle. Adding permeation barriers can reduce those leaks.

Some federal requirements will call for more than a year of testing, Smith said, meaning that suppliers like Agri-Industrial Plastics must be ready to begin production soon. "It seems like a long way off, but when we point out to people the timetable, then all of a sudden it really hits, " he said.

The Iowa firm has 18 blow molding machines already, making tanks and other industrial components. The new equipment will supplement that, Smith said. Production and research already done for the auto industry will provide important information as multilayer technology moves into the off-road arena, he said.

Fish is counting on his expertise in developing partial zero-emission fuel systems for carmakers as the lawn equipment business takes on the same concerns.

"I've seen a lot of these same questions come up in automotive that (new customers) are asking now." He said. "To a certain extent, the auto industry is going to provide some good building blocks."

Co-Extruded Fuel Tanks:
Co-Extrusion coming Fall of 2005
Press Release: Agri-Industrial Plastics Company Expands Production Capabilities

Fairfield, Iowa, June 24, 2004 – Agri-Industrial Plastics Company (AIP) today announced a major expansion into co-extruded barrier gas tanks. Recognizing the significance of new federal regulations for non-automotive fuel tanks, AIP has purchased a SIG Kautex 6-layer co-extrusion blow molding machine. This new SIG Kautex machine provides state of the art technology and optimized blow molding capabilities which will further enable AIP to meet their customer's specific requirements. Installation is scheduled for fall of 2005.

The new EPA regulation titled "Control of Emissions from Recreational Engines and Vehicles" is effective for model year 2008 and covers ATV's, snowmobiles, and off-highway motorcycles. With the purchase of the Sig Kautex co-extrusion blow molding machine, AIP will be uniquely positioned in the industry to service this segment of the fuel tank market. AIP's timing of the installation will coincide with the 56 weeks of testing required by the EPA to certify new model tanks. With that in mind, AIP is already involved with several customers in the design and engineering phase for such tanks.