Scranton, PA-based Laminations is a multi-faceted company. Not only does the 50-year-old firm specialize in compression molding and extruding high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene, but it also fabricates an array of products for a variety of industries including bathroom, playground, signage and industrial markets.

According to sales manager Gary Borgia, Laminations sells the majority of its products to OEMs. HDPE bathroom partitions, for example, are compression molded for sister company Santana (see sidebar on Manufacturing Panels for Santana's Partitions, page 20). Laminations also supplies high-density sheet material to 90 percent of playground manufacturers, he said. "We're always looking for new markets where plastic can be used to replace wood or metal," Borgia said. "We usually supply just flat sheets, but we can machine as well."

Extruding & Molding the Sheets
The HDPE and polypropylene sheets are manufactured "around the clock" on one of the company's five compression molding presses and/or five extrusion lines. "Compression molding guarantees nice, flat sheets," said Tim Riese, plant manager. "That is necessary on things like cutting boards, which are exposed to high heat from dishwashers and can otherwise warp."

Sheet sizes of 4 feet by 8 feet up to 6 feet by 16 feet can be compression molded from either resin or extruded sheet. Pressing time can vary from 30 minutes to 8 hours, depending on the thickness required, Riese said. Typically, sheets are manufactured in 60 standard colors, with custom colors available upon request.

"In some instances, the compression-molded sheet can be machined and used as a replacement for rotational molding," Borgia said, adding that this makes the cost to change designs or colors no longer prohibitive.

50 Years Young A major manufacturer of compression-molded and extruded polyolefin sheet and slab for various commercial, industrial and architectural construction products, Laminations was founded in 1948 by Michael Lynch Sr. and incorporated as a Pennsylvania Business Corporation in 1953. Today, the company employs more than 400 people in its 150-square foot facility. The company specializes in pressing and extruding high density polyethylene and polypropylene in an array of sizes and colors for use in toilet and shower compartments for sister company Santana, cutting boards, playground equipment, chemical process applications and signage. According to Gary Borgia, sales manager, the HDPE sheet/slab has good impact and abrasion resistance, suitable for continuous heat to 180F. Specific applications for the HDPE sheet/slab include: cutting boards, tank liners, machined parts, photo equipment, thermoforming and hospital equipment. The company uses homopolymer/copolymer polypropylene sheet/slab because of its high chemical and corrosion resistance and ease of fabrication. Applications for the polpropylene sheet/slab include: structural tanks, tank lining, photo equipment, electronic equipment, filter plates and plating. For more information about the company, Laminations can be reached at (800) 233-4701; www.laminations.com.

Machining the Components
Although Laminations stocks approximately 75,000 square feet of material in inventory, all components are machined on a just-in-time basis. "We do a lot of custom work -- different sizes, shapes and colors. We also do a lot of prototyping and product development," Borgia said.

Laminations has the capability to machine the material into a variety of playground products, including interactive play panels seen at parks and schoolyard playgrounds, spring animals (plastic animals which bounce on a spring as the kids rock) and structural parts, such as hockey rink doors.

Machining is typically a two-step process. Prior to routing the parts, the compression-molded and/or extruded sheets are cut to size on one of three CNC panel saws. Purchased from SCMI, the three Delta 45Ps are rear loading and feature a lift table. According to John Lesh, an employee in the fabrications department, the saws can be used to cut panels approximately 15 feet wide and have a cutting height of approximately 4 inches. "The maximum size for our compression molds is 6 feet wide by 16 feet long, so we can easily run programs optimizing the sheets," Lesh said. In addition to the three CNC saws, the company uses two older, manual saws for special jobs.

After cutting the sheets to size, the panels are taken to one of two CNC routers, either a Routech R450 work center, which the company purchased from Tekna Advanced Technologies approximately one year ago, or a Komo VR512 CNC router. The Routech features a 10-station automatic tool changer, 360-degree rotating axis and a pop-up back stop and vacuum hold-down system. The Komo VR512 has dual spindles and full-table coverage on the lateral travel and 6 inches on vertical travel.

"We use the Routech in conjunction with the Komo. Both are used everyday, around the clock," Lesh said. "Our production rates depend on what job we're doing that day." For example, Lesh said, in addition to playground equipment, jobs can range from routing the door leading to the ice in a hockey rink to machining parts for bathroom partitions, or cutting boards.

Manufacturing Panels for Santana's Partitions The bathroom partition industry serves as Laminations' primary industry, followed by playground, food service, plastic distributors and signage. "The partition industry is really growing. Santana is our number one customer, and is also the leader, dollar-wise, for partition sales in the U.S.," said Gary Borgia, sales manager. Santana is a sister company of Laminations, with a manufacturing facility located in the same Scranton, PA, facility as Laminations. In 1979 Santana developed and introduced a high-density polyethylene plastic material for toilet partitions in public restrooms. In addition to the partitions, the compression-molded HDPE is used to manufacture shower stalls, vanities and locker room benches for use in schools, prisons, industrial plants and recreational facilities. To manufacture the sheets for Santana, Laminations uses a combination of virgin and recycled HDPE pellets, which are placed into a mold and exposed to high pressure and thermal conduction. The extruded sheets are then compression molded into 1-inch-thick panels and fabricated into the various products. The solid plastic sheets are virtually maintenance free, Santana says in its literature, and are available in three distinct color lines: Poly-Mar HD, Poly-Marble HD and Poly-Granite HD. The colors can be combined into an array of colors.

Making Cutting Boards
The food service industry is the third largest market served by Laminations, following bathroom partitions and playground equipment. The primary product made by Laminations for this niche is cutting boards.

In addition to manufacturing cutting boards for companies such as RubberMaid, Laminations makes Poly-Mere compression-molded cutting boards constructed of HDPE. This means that the cutting boards will not break, chip, crack, splinter or bend, Borgia said. "They also won't absorb moisture and won't dull knives like wood will," he said.

Laminations is also working with anti-bacterial additives to inhibit the growth of bacteria and last the life of the board," Borgia said.

A Sign of the Times
Another niche market for Laminations is the industrial/outdoor signage industry. "We recently got into it after realizing that the di-color plastic that we use in the playground equipment seemed a logical choice for use in outdoor signs," said Frank DiPaolo, warehouse manager. "There's a lot of established wood sign, vinyl sign and painted metal sign companies that make inexpensive products. Ours are a little more expensive, but they last forever," DiPaolo added.

Created specifically for plastic signage, Laminations' PolyTone is a plastic sheet which the company manufactures by compression molding three to five layers of HDPE UV-stabilized plastic sheet. The sheet can be made in a wide range of colors, including all solids or with the exterior sheets one color and the interior another, producing a di-color effect. Standard sheet thicknesses are 1Ú2 inch, 3Ú4 inch and 1 inch, in sizes of 31Ú2 feet by 12 feet or 4 feet by 8 feet.

Designs, slogans or logos can be routed into the sheets using CNC routers, Borgia said. Once finished, the signs are maintenance free in that they resist fading, cracking, delaminating and graffiti, he added. Laminations has already produced signs for use by state parks and schools.

According to DiPaolo, in addition to its current niche markets, Laminations is continuing to look for additional growth opportunities. One way is to increase its distribution in other countries. "Approximately 10 percent of Laminations' product is exported to Europe and Australia. There's a good future there, especially for plastic playground equipment, since most of their product is in wood," DiPaolo said.

Plastics Machining & Fabricating
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