We’ve been doing blown film extruding for about 20 years now, and in the beginning we made a decision about resins from which we have not deviated over the years. We prefer to only run certified prime resins in our process. Here’s why:
If you’re familiar with polyethylene, you probably know there are many grades of material. There are also many off-grade materials available in the marketplace. Sometimes the only thing that makes resin off grade is a very slight deviation from the standards set by the resin producers and everything is fine. Other times, however, the deviations are not so slight. These materials often show up in the marketplace at deeply discounted prices. While the lower prices might be tempting to some, those resins may have, for example, lower standards for melt indexes, clarity, and haze, which can result in finished products that are inferior in various ways. They can also result in bags with weak seals, weak film strength, variations in appearance, and other undesirable performance and aesthetic issues. In addition, different grades will process very differently in our manufacturing. By consistently using the same high-quality resins, we are able to produce the consistent results that we and our customers expect.
Chasing low-priced, off-grade materials can do more harm than good, and we’re as still confident as we were 20 years ago that using only certified prime resins is the best option for us and our customers.