Issue No. 17
March 2008

PCT Announces the Addition of Dr. Stephen Lapin

PCT Engineered Systems LLC has announced that Stephen C. Lapin, Ph.D. has joined their BroadBeam® team as the lead Electron Beam Application Specialist. In this position, Dr. Lapin will be responsible for assisting PCT's customers with the development of coating, printing and adhesive applications as well as providing technical expertise in the research and development of the BroadBeam electron beam processors.

Dr. Lapin has extensive experience in both Ultra Violet (UV) and Electron Beam (EB) applications with over 20 years experience in the industry. He is the inventor on 22 U.S. patents involving UV/EB technology. Dr. Lapin has a Ph. D. from the University of Illinois in Organic Photochemistry and has more than 40 articles published on UV/EB technology. He is also a frequent speaker at the industry's technical and trade association meetings.

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RadTech FCN Receives FDA Approval

The RadTech Food Contact Notification Alliance is pleased to announce that Food Contact Notification (FCN) 772 received FDA approval on March 7, 2008, covering a range of workhorse acrylates and an optional photoinitiator. Specifically, FCN 772 clears for direct food contact any mixture of one or more of tripropylene glycol diacrylate (TPGDA), trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA), trimethylolpropane ethoxylate triacrylate (TMPEOTA), and bisphenol A diglycidyl ether diacrylate and optionally, Esacure One photoinitiator, cured by either ultraviolet (UV) or electron beam (EB) irradiation. Moreover, the applied formulations may include any combination with other reactants, polymers, additives, pigments etc. already permitted for the intended use under 21 CFR.

The UV or EB cured formulations may be used as coatings (including inks) or as components of coatings (including inks) on polymeric substrates, paper and paperboard, metal substrates, or as a component in adhesives. The finished coating, ink or adhesive is permitted a migration level for each of the cleared monomers and for the photoinitiator up to 10 ppm. The total level of nonvolatile extractables derived from the finished coating may not exceed 10 ppm, after correction for the migration levels for each monomer and photoinitiator used. The UV and EB cured coatings, inks and adhesives may be used in direct contact with all food types under Conditions of Use A through H, as described in 21 CFR.

This is a breakthrough food contact approval for UV/EB curable formulations, because it allows any combination of cleared materials in direct food contact, and because it is expected to open new applications for UV and EB curing that previously might have been limited by lack of explicit food contact clearance.

Under FDA regulations, only Alliance members and their customers may claim clearance for materials and formulations selected from FCN 772. It is expected that the range of cleared acrylates will be expanded, because Alliance members are permitted to incorporate the Alliance FCN master files by reference in new FCN filings, thereby limiting the level of additional information, time and cost required to clear their own proprietary UV/EB curing materials and formulations.

More information can be found at the RadTech website: www.radtech.org

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PCT to Exhibit and Speak at RadTech UV&EB 2008

PCT will be an active participant in the upcoming RadTech UV&EB 2008 Conference and Exhibition to be held May 4-7 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL. RadTech UV&EB 2008 is the world's largest event dedicated to the educational, technical, and scientific advancement of ultraviolet (UV) and electron beam (EB) technologies (www.RadTech2008.com). The PCT display will be located in Booth 622 and will feature an exciting new product introduction. A presentation on this new offering will also be given by Karl Swanson during a "New Product Debut" session. Steve Lapin will participate in the session on "UV&EB Curing for Sustainable Printing and Packaging" scheduled for 10:00 on Tuesday May 6th.

Passes for complimentary admission are available from PCT. Please contact Karl Swanson (KESwanson@TeamPCT.com) to request yours. We hope to see you in Chicago!

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Limited Supply of Used Equipment Available

As a result of previous equipment upgrade projects, PCT has a small inventory of used equipment available for sale or lease. Please contact us for more details and pricing.

• High Voltage Power Supply, Rated for 250 kV, 600 mA, Electro Engineering
• High Voltage Power Supply, Rated for 175 kV, 300 mA, NWL
• EP Series Processor Cabinet and Vacuum Chamber, 63 inches wide, “Side Fire”
• Vacuum Roll for Web Handling, 24 inches wide
• Pass Line Rolls, 24 inch face width, 3 inch diameter
• Mandrels, 24 inches wide, 3 inch diameter
• Complete E-Beam Processor System
  • Rated for operation up to 250 kV
  • Product width up to 28.5” (724 mm)
  • Rated for 3000 MR-feet per minute

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