Hard-working, strong and confident: those are the attributes of the Rooster in Chinese tradition. And as the Chinese New Year heralds the Year of the Rooster, Richard Hough believes the same qualities will make 2017 the ‘Year of the Simtex…’
Certainly, the Simtex calender roll is a hard worker, with a lifespan three times longer than a typical composite roll. It also has the proven strength to perform under the toughest conditions, with the heat-resistance to match steel rolls and the surface finish versatility of fibre rolls.
Those vital performance benefits have already made Simtex a winner. Introduced originally for textile calendering, at the 2016 ITMA exhibition, the roll’s combination of innovative properties is also taking it into super calendering for the paper industry.
That continuing success is what gives Hough the confidence to forecast even greater market penetration across a number of industries in the year ahead. “In fact, Simtex is proving to be the ideal solution to many of the challenges brought to us by end-users,” says Hough Sales Director Mike Urey.
The advantages of Simtex stack up convincingly against each of the other roll types it can replace. For example, ‘steel on steel’ calendering or thermal bonding is an option for high-temperature applications, when conventional paper and cotton fibre rolls would burn under processing at 250°C and beyond. But steel rolls can’t provide the complex surface finishing available with fibre rolls – soft touch and high glaze, for example, or use of a wide nip and extra dwell time to increase substrate temperature.
Simtex scores doubly here: it’s the same hardness as a fibre roll, allowing the full range of calendering effects, without risk of burning, even at up to 400°C.
Against high-priced composite sleeves, which can meet the temperature and versatility requirements, Simtex wins outright by offering a working lifespan up to three times longer, as well as a much greater working diameter. Composite covers are also prone to cracking, if a foreign object or uneven substrate passes through the nip – in which case a completely new sleeve is the only answer. If a Simtex meets the same problem, a simple regrind of the roll will restore it to full operation.
Simtex is also more than just a calender roll. It also delivers top performance in embossing too. In this process, the Simtex is used as the backing roller to an engraved roller. In this configuration, the roll effectively re-embosses itself with every revolution. This cuts running-in times significantly and provides a massive boost for embossing companies whose machines tend to suffer from overheating.
Richard Hough’s policy of continuous innovation in roll technology is the foundation of the Simtex’s success, as feedback from the earliest customers is now demonstrating: “We feel our customers have a really special product with Simtex,” says Mike Urey. “We are grateful to the companies which helped trial the first rollers, and their payback is in the results of the Simtex first hand. We are continuously researching new applications which can benefit from the Simtex, and I firmly believe there are many more processes that this wonder roll can help improve.”