enEN
EN
Home | About us | News | A Configured Solution in the Technical Hose Industry

A Configured Solution in the Technical Hose Industry

Earlier this year, FARPI-FRANCE stepped in to support Vincent Caron of Tricoflex in optimizing their technical‐hose co‑extrusion line; in this customer case, you’ll discover how Raphael  Roux and his team diagnosed wall‑thickness and feed‑rate issues, delivered a configured MDS Balance dosing and MMS Weight monitoring solution, and commissioned it on‑site to reduce scrap, tighten tolerances, and boost throughput
Book a consultation!

The Initial Inquiry

The initial decision to evaluate Movacolor’s weighing-and-dosing solution stemmed from previous experience from one of Vincent’s colleagues, who had previous exposure to our systems through FARPI-FRANCE. Because they had integrated Movacolor equipment at a former employer of Tricoflex’s leadership, our brand was already known.

Prior to selecting Movacolor, Tricoflex had experimented with other dosing devices, but found the lack of seamless multi-line integration for their co-extrusion process and prompt vendor support was not suitable for their processes. With over ninety software-driven extrusion systems in place, immediate technical assistance became a decisive factor.

When FARPI-FRANCE confirmed that Movacolor could deliver the precise control required for hose extrusion, Vincent immediately championed a full pilot.

 By reclaiming the five minutes of manual weighing and screw‐speed adjustment three times per shift, each production line recovers 15 minutes of operating time every day, for two operators.” Vincent Caron, Tricoflex

FARPI-FRANCE and Raphael Roux

FARPI-FRANCE is a trusted partner of Movacolor and caters to the French market, serving manufacturers in injection molding, extrusion and blow molding. Raphael Roux and his team are involved in sales and customer relations, as well as technical support for their client throughout several verticals. Throughout the implementation of new dosing devices on the co-extrusion line at Tricoflex, they have served an integral part in the success of this configuration.

Raphaël Roux is the Chief Executive Officer of FARPI-FRANCE, a family‑owned SME founded in 1976 that specializes in distributing and manufacturing plastics auxiliary equipment and conveyor systems. He has held the CEO position since July 2019, leading the company’s strategic vision and day‑to‑day operations.

Tricoflex and Vincent Caron

Tricoflex is an established player in the technical hose industry, headquartered in Vitry‑le‑François in France’s Champagne region. With over 65 years of expertise and a modern facility that produces more than 100 000 km of flexible hoses annually—across garden, industrial and food‑grade applications—Tricoflex also upholds an eco‑responsible strategy by recycling over 2 500 tons of PVC each year.

Vincent Caron serves as Tricoflex’s Lean Manager, where he leads the drive for continuous improvement across all extrusion operations. He is responsible for identifying and eliminating inefficiencies, standardizing workflows, and implementing best-practice processes that boost throughput, quality and safety. In this role he oversees safety protocols, trains and supports production teams, and collaborates with other sites and partners to share learnings.

A Modular Solution

 

Tricoflex’s extrusion lines operate 24 hours a day, five days a week, with a month annual shutdown. Reducing setup and adjustment delays would not only save material but would also frees up valuable machine hours. Movacolor’s solution could address both if set up correctly: material savings through precise dosing, and significant reductions in downtime thanks to streamlined startup procedures.

 

During the pilot, the Movacolor MCLinecontrol system at Tricoflex was initially configured with just one scale per half-line, which led to small but impactful measurement errors as the extruded hose cooled and shrank. After the system went live, our support team identified a consistent 0.03% deviation caused by residual contraction. To correct this, they calibrated the software to apply a precise shrinkage factor: once each meter of hose is measured, the system automatically compensates for the 0.03% contraction. This software update was rolled out identically on both halves of the production line, restoring reliable accuracy without requiring any hardware changes.

 

We outfitted the extruders with an MMS Weight for base-material feed and equipped selected machines with MDS Balances for additive dosing. On the first and second extruder (inner layer 1 and 2), only an MMS Weight was required. The third and fourth extruder (inner layer 3 and 4) received an MMS Weight plus two MDS Balances on the last layer—one dedicated to masterbatch (color and filler dosing) and another for slip agent dosing.

Throughout the course of the project, Vincent managed coordinating internal teams with FARPI-FRANCE specialists to tailor the solution to Tricoflex’s four-layer hose design. The hose structure consists of two inner PVC layers, a central “yarn” layer made up of two outer and two inner sub-layers, and two outer layers—each requiring exact material proportions to meet stringent flow-rate and performance specifications.

 

 

Movacolor’s unified solution consisted of a setup among four extruders, consisting of:

 

4x MMS Weight | 2x MDS Balances | MCLinecontrol

The Result

 

Prior to automation, operators had to measure hose weight manually and adjust screw speeds to control layer thickness. Inner layers typically used standard PVC at €2 per kilogram, but specialty compounds could cost €5–€6 per kilogram. This manual procedure—measuring weight per meter and dialing in screw speed—resulted in frequent downtime and inconsistent product quality. 

Although the team still conducts hourly checks on-line progress, the MCLinecontrol system’s pre-configured recipes and material parameters now enable much faster startups and more consistent control. Above all, the guaranteed kilogram-per-layer accuracy remains the project’s defining success, ensuring that each hose meets customer specifications while maximizing material efficiency.

 

The most concrete, guaranteed benefit that Tricoflex realizes from the MCLinecontrol upgrade is the reduction in labor‐intensive downtime. By reclaiming the five minutes of manual weighing and screw‐speed adjustment three times per shift, each production line recovers 15 minutes of operating time every day.

The greatest achievement of this configuration is that our line output now consistently meets exact weight per measurement specifications, guaranteeing a product of the highest quality.”

How Efficiency Translates to Business Outcomes

That same 15 minutes wasted daily equates to roughly 240 production days (24 h × 5 d × 48 weeks), which amounts to 60 hours of extra “run” time per line each year. Because two operators had been tied up during those adjustments, this yields 120 operator‐hours freed annually. At a full labor rate of €25 per hour, Tricoflex saves about €3 000 in labor costs for each extrusion line every year.

In addition to labor, there is an element of opportunity cost recovery: those 60 extra machine‐hours could be used to produce—and potentially sell—more hose, provided there is market demand. If, for example, an extrusion line produces 200 kg of hose per hour and achieves a net margin (selling price minus direct costs) of €4 per kilogram, then the reclaimed time could translate into 60 h × 200 kg/h = 12 000 kg of additional output, worth roughly €48 000 of incremental margin annually.

Johan Froentjes
Go back

Latest news