FlexaMix™ Starch Kitchen

Meet the FlexaMix^TM  Starch Kitchen System

If your company is looking for an innovative and environmentally friendly bonding solutions for difficult substrates, Rapid Bond can provide the solutions you need. We have been successfully serving companies throughout North America along with Latin America for over decades.

Our FlexaMix™, is the first advent in starch kitchen technology since the introduction of high shear mixing over 25 years ago! While it’s important to note that the FlexaMix is able to run a Stein-Hall Formula, (as is only possible with our competitor’s mixers); we can also produce our Hybrid Mix starch process. This process grants the following benefits; specifically:

• Guaranteed elimination of starch additive usage
• Minimum 7% starch reduction consumption from other Stein-Hall starch kitchens available in the U.S.
• Achieve high pin numbers
• Full automation; no human error or labor
• Use untreated corrugator and flexo wash water to make starch adhesive
• Use any native pearl starch: Corn, Tapioca, Wheat, Potato

The documented savings here in the United States are tens of thousands of dollars per month with a payback period typically less than one year
These benefits of the FlexaMix and the Hybrid Mix are possible due to our in-line patent pending viscometer.  The viscometer is not mechanical, nor does it have any moving parts, it was designed exclusively for use with starch adhesive, thus it does not get gummed up or provides false readings.  The viscosity is read in real time during the batch process and the final viscosity desired can be pre-set into the formula and achieved consistently batch-to-batch.

We also recently introduced our FlexaMix Duo Continuous™ which along with the aforementioned benefits, is also able to produce 387 gallon batches every 17 minutes.  This particular starch kitchen is designed for the next generation of high speed (1500 FPM) and / or, high capacity corrugator facilities.

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Used by 700+ corrugation facilities worldwide

In only eight years, the FlexaMix™ has become the fastest-selling starch kitchen globally, with more than 700 sold. Its high-quality construction and innovative technology is sought after by corrugator plants seeking to produce superior starch adhesive. Introduced to North America market at Super Corr Expo 2012, the Flexamix represents the first technological advancement in the American starch kitchen market since the advent of high-shear mixing almost 20 years ago.

Corrugator plants in the U.S. have long relied on high-shear mixers using the Stein-Hall method to produce starch. While familiar, this method has many shortcomings including: 

● Poor bonding on recycled paper. 

● Reliance on costly starch additives/carrier starches. 

● Viscosity stability. 

● Painstaking reformulations. 

● Necessity of fresh adhesive. 

The FlexaMix represents a paradigm shift. Due to a redesign of the mixing tank and a patent-pending , inline viscometer, the mixing tank itself becomes a giant Stein-Hall cup.The viscosity is measured throughout the batch and is displayed in real time on the HMI. The plant operator can present the desired viscosity into the formula and achieve that value consistently, batch-to-batch. It is important to note the viscometer is not mechanical. Featuring no moving parts, it does no provide false readings; it is designed specifically for starch adhesive. 

This viscosity control grants corrugator plants the opportunity to move away from the Stein-Hall method of producing starch. The FlexaMix allows for caustic to be accurately metered into the secondary portion of the batch. The resultant starch, named “Hybrid-Mix” starch, is a blend of Stein-Hall and the European No-Carrier, taking the best attributes of both. Using a smaller primary than Stein-Hall (for green tack), then adding caustic into the secondary, swells all starch particles uniformly. This secondary provides the best attributes of No-Carrier , namely its excellent bond with recycled paper fibers. The long-standing need for cost-adding starch additives to enhance bond is eliminated. 

The main property of Hybrid-Mix is starch uniformity. The starch adhesive is very stable, granting longer storage times (at lower temperatures), without degradation. The concept of having to make small batches of “fresh” starch is a thing of the past, due to no longer producing Stein-Hall starch, which by its nature, is unstable and falls out over time. A corrugator plant can increase efficiency by making a batch on friday night and start-up Monday with it. Because the FlexaMix is able to custom formulate solids and particle size. the operator can create the ideal starch adhesive for whatever paper types he is running lower solids formulas. In addition, due its ability to automatically adjust the starch formulation in real time, the FlexaMix is able to use untreated corrugator and flex wash water. Starting pH and solids are rendered irrelevant. Corrugator plants can further increase their environment sustainability while realizing saving from not treating water. 

The only ingredients ever required for the Flexamix are: 

● Water (fresh or untreated) 

● Unmodified pearl starch (of any kind) 

● Caustic 

● Borid Acid

Training personnel and maintenance on the FlexaMix are simple, as all components are of high quality and familiar to U.S. corrugator plant operators. With significant annual savings, the FlexaMix payback period is typically under one year. 

Process & benefits of the FlexaMix^TM

In the past, the process of improving bonding performance and board quality, while reducing starch consumption, centered around the addition of costly chemicals to starch adhesives. 

Through a redesign of the mixing tank, together with an exclusive sealed Viscosity Detection System, The FlexaMix™ is able to precisely control the swelling of unmodified pearl starch. The FlexaMix™ Starch Mixer liberates corrugator plants from the starch additive paradigm. 

This ability to precisely control starch swelling achieves the following: – Elimination of the use of starch additives

– Reduction in starch consumption 

– Pre-set and consistent batch-to-batch viscosity 

– Use of untreated wash water in starch adhesive production 

– Formulation of perfect adhesive for any type of paper 

– Lower cook, storage and gel temperatures

OSHA Compliant

Our starch mixing systems are OSHA compliant and feature Allen-Bradley PLC controls, stainless steel flanged fittings and braided hoses and other easily obtainable components. The FlexaMix is built to a high standard that, with regular maintenance, is unlikely to ever cause you down time!

Contact us today to learn more about how Flexamix can benefit your company’s bottom line.