New Block Mould Creates New Opportunities for KORE

by Brian Flax | Nov 24, 2020

KORE is pleased to announce the installation and commissioning of our new Nuova IdroPress Vertical Block Moulding machine, made possible with funding from European Regional Development Fund and Ireland’s European Structural and Investment Funds Programme through Enterprise Ireland. This exciting addition expands our production capabilities, increasing the overall quality of our product and offers benefits both in-house and for our end-users onsite.

Here’s what you can expect from KORE EPS and what it means for the future of our business.

An increase in EPS block sizes

KORE are now able to produce block sizes at 5m x 1.25m x 1.25m. Compared to our previous size of 3.70m x1.25m x1.05m, we are now able to produce more material per block, reducing waste while allowing KORE to increase productivity and overall output. In real numbers, we are now able to produce close to an entire carton of extra material when compared to the previous block size.

From a customer’s perspective, this allows us to provide any length of EPS block from 3.6 metres up to 5 metres, meaning most customers that require different size boards can now be cut from one block of EPS, helping keep the material consistent in terms of quality and within the same tolerances of 2 to 3mm. This also increases the speed of production on the cutting line, allowing us to get orders out the door and on-site in less time. This can be especially helpful for urgent orders and those that require quick turnaround.

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An increase in productivity for production

With the new size of Expanded Polystyrene blocks we are now realising much less waste and leftover scrap material. This reduces the time our production team spends recycling material to be used for the remoulding of EPS blocks or compacting for final recycling. The Nuova Idropress also significantly reduces mould time per block by nearly 50 percent. Standard definition material can now be produced in 3 to 4 minutes per block, while in the past the standard production time was 7 to 9 minutes, effectively doubling the amount of finished material we are able to produce on a daily basis.

An increase in the quality of our material

Customers will not only benefit from the faster turnaround time, but will enjoy a higher quality material for our entire EPS product range. KORE’s production operatives now have more control over the entire moulding process with the inclusion of on-screen graphing. This displays real-time information on each EPS block as it runs through the mould cycle. The KORE team also has access to density correction. This ensures each EPS block is kept at the correct specified density setpoint throughout the production process.

New markets and new opportunities for the future

Our research & development team is hard at work exploring new opportunities for the Nuova IdroPress. This includes larger board sizes and new product development including new densities like EPS500 for void formers and civil engineering applications, and support for larger loading for the KORE Insulated Foundation System.

The increase in our production will allow us to respond to market demand as the construction and housing markets continue to stabilise, enabling us to meet the requirements both domestically and to expand into additional export markets in the short to medium term.