Converting companies are companies that specialize in modifying or combining raw materials such as polyesters, adhesives, silicone, adhesive tapes, foams, plastics, felts, rubbers, liners and metals, as well as other materials, to create new products.
Materials such as paper, plastic film, foil and cloth often are produced in long, continuous sheets that are rolled up for more convenient handling and transportation. These rolls of material vary significantly in size and weight — ranging from 2–203 inches (5–516 cm) wide and weighing as much as several tons. The converting industry takes these continuous rolls of thin, flat materials — known as webs — threads them through processing machines (such as printing presses, laminating, coating and slitting machines) and converts or changes the web of material into an intermediate form or final product. For example, a converter’s equipment might take a web of plastic film, cut it into lengths, and fuse their edges, thus converting it into plastic bags. This activity is known as web processing.
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