From the Factory Floor
By Casey Flores
It was just my very first week at Window Film magazine when I visited Eastman Chemical Company’s LLumar plant in Martinsville, Virginia. Learning how window film is made early on influenced my reporting for years to come. I’ve since had the goal of visiting every window film plant in the world, but every time I get closer to that goal, new ones spring up. That’s especially true because the same machines (with small modifications) in the same plants make paint protection film (PPF). With that industry booming and a slight difference between how window film and PPF are made, my goal of visiting every plant in the world is getting harder. That said,
I was able to visit one—Sangbo’s—at the company’s Gimpo, South Korea headquarters. Here’s a bit of what I learned.
Tweaked from Tint
Window film is made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), while paint protection film is made from thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). TPU has higher abrasion resistance which makes it more suitable for protecting a car’s paint (among other things—see our feature Spot the Opportunities on page 20).
I noticed at the Sangbo plant that while its Kaizer PPF product was running through the manufacturing line, it was moving much slower than traditional window film. In fact, it was being laminated at a rate of 7.9 meters per minute while the company’s IVIOS window film moves through the machine at 50 meters per minute. While this rate varies by manufacturer, it does explain why plants around the world are increasing capacity and investing in new coating and
laminating machinery—the growth of PPF combined with its slower production process has made that necessary.
More Capacity Coming
PPF isn’t just growing in popularity—it’s growing in versatility. That’s clearer in Korea than the U.S. as Korean manufacturers have been able to release a ton of colored PPF capable of bringing about full-color changes. One of our bloggers Tint Wiz CEO Erik Devash once wrote, “we could be entering a phase where vehicles are mainly colored and protected using paint protection film rather than traditional paint.” With that, I expect even more capital investment in the years to come. And more plants! My favorite.
Issue at Hand
In this issue, you’ll also find how to add ceramic coatings to your business (see page 12) as well as a walkthrough of Madico’s Pinellas Park, Florida manufacturing plant (on page 16). As always, I’d like to hear from you your thoughts on the magazine and about anything interesting.
To view the laid-in version of this issue in our digital edition, CLICK HERE.