A Polymer Plant That Handles Resin With Care
Shell Polymers has invested in cutting-edge loading technology at its new Pennsylvania polyethylene plant to help keep resin deliveries on schedule.
To instill converter confidence, a polymer plant must be capable of delivering resin that’s both high-quality and on-schedule. At our brand-new Monaca, Pennsylvania polymer plant, Shell Polymers has invested in cutting-edge loading technology that will help us to do just that.
High Transfer Times and Slow Departures Hurt Profits
Inside our polymer plant, our teams are squarely focused on producing on-spec pellets for converter customers.
Those efforts don’t stop at the front door. Once resin leaves the plant proper, the quality control procedures continue, thanks to our state-of-the-art silo-top loading infrastructure.
We at Shell Polymers shun hastiness in almost all things. Quality is paramount, after all. But these silos are FAST – able to fill a truck within 15 to 20 minutes, and getting the driver back on the road within an hour.
That’s not all. The long run from the plant to the silos provides in-line removal – known as “elutriation” – of dust, angel hair, and other contamination prior to loading.
Compare that to other suppliers that don’t load their trucks on-site, instead relying on bulk transfer facilities that translate to increased handling of resin that can make it more susceptible to damage and contamination.
We also rely on our nearby truck staging yard to allow for “drop-and-swaps” – when drivers arrive with an empty trailer and swap with a loaded trailer.
After completing paperwork and required pre-trip inspections, drivers can be in and out of our facility quickly, allowing them to minimize time spent waiting for material transfer and maximize time driving.
A Dual-Modality Polymer Plant in a Strategic Location
So far we’ve talked about our trucking infrastructure, but that’s only a piece of our supply reliability strategy in Monaca, chosen for its geographic proximity to the majority of North American polyethylene demand.
The resin we don’t ship by truck will travel the rails in our fleet of hopper cars, which will be washed carefully between deliveries to prevent contamination.
That dual-modality approach means more options for our customers, in addition to adherence to quality control standards.
These delivery options provide flexibility. For example, we can switch from loading a railcar to loading a truck, if needed, with our on-site truck loading silo facility.
Meanwhile, in a first for the polymer industry, every one of our railcars is outfitted with a GPS unit, providing additional supply peace of mind to converters, who can track the whereabouts of their shipments through our convenient Customer Hub.
