Until recently Hosokawa Alpine American had always run a complete blown film line at the NPE Show; however at NPE2006 Alpine, believing it is impossible to set up a complete line that represents all of Alpine's wide range of capabilities, "broke with tradition" and used a static display of their exclusive 7 layer X-Die.

Alpine promoted it as a way of investing in their customers by using the money saved (approximately $200,000) to invest in a lab line as well as various industry causes. The result was very well received and attendees reacted positively to Alpine's investment in the industry.

This year at NPE 2009 all of HAAI's competitors followed Alpine's lead and did not run film lines, however Alpine American went a step further. Several cameras were set up on Alpine's fully operational seven layer line in Dow Chemical's Film application development center in Freeport TX, displaying the entire film process. This Live Feed video scrolled through the different views and were projected onto three plasma television screens at Alpine's booth at McCormick Place in Chicago.

On another plasma screen, Alpine engineers demonstrated the remote control capability of the ExVis Control System. Customers could see all running data, trends, and recipes live from the Dow Chemical line. They were even able to change process parameters and running conditions. These changes could not only be seen on the ExVis display, but also on the video screens. This capability is provided with every new Alpine blown film line and is all done with a simple internet connection.

The Alpine booth also displayed large vertical panels of various Blown Film Bubbles running different products and allowing visitors the appearance of actually being in a Blown Film plant. Other graphics focused on Alpine technology and service. The net result was a very positive show that demonstrated Alpine's latest technology without the cost and noise associated with running a line. We could actually hear our customers, and that is always a good thing