Barry Plastics

Barry was very cool if for no other reason than the sheer output volume we experienced first hand. After we had safety glasses, hard hats, hair nets, beard nets, ear plugs, smocks (they were serious about safety) we were led to the companies printing facilities. This process was very different that what I expected and the machines looked like large circular airplane engines with radial pistons firing in slow motion. Each "piston" was just adding pressure to to a specific paint roller that was associated with an ink well. the inks were made in house and capable of mixing to make any pantone system color. Rollers had a plate with a specific aspect of the design to be printed. the product (cups) came through, were painted, dried in a tenth of a second with UV light, and sent on their way at a rate of hundreds of thousands per day.
     Next was thermoforming, which was arguable the most impressive process. Here huge hoppers of plastic pellets were heated to extrude gigantic sheets that were cooled and then reheated to specific pliability before being stamped with a two sided dye press that was probably 30 feet tall. It was then cooled, and cut. scraps are shredded and returned to the hoppers for minimal waste in the production process. When asked about the output of McFlurry cups(that's what they were forming that day) they answered in tons, which didn't help at all but showed how ridiculous the output really was.
     Finally we saw injection molding which wasn't as interesting to look at due to slower production rates and more thoroughly enclosed machinery, but it was interesting to learn the specifics of the process. I had no idea that the injected material was forced into the molds with hundreds of tons of force and that the molds had to me internally cooled in order to have the products set fast enough. I also learned that injection molded plastics are harder to recycle back into raw material because the process puts so much stress on the chemical makeup. But according to Barry, our tour guide this seeming lack of manufacturing efficiency is negated by how little waste material is formed in the process compared to thermoforming.