Vreeberg specialises in the production of elastic and flexible plastic film, cord and tube: high-quality plastics with rubber-like properties. We supply the elastic-plastic TPE primarily to manufacturers in the medical sector. Our main customers for shock-absorbing TPU are footwear manufacturers.
Specialist in elastic and flexible plastic film
Vreeberg
Our activities
Elastic and flexible film
Vreeberg is your one-stop shop for the production of elastic or flexible film in rolls. At your request, we can then slit or die-cut the material to any shape you desire.
TPE: elastic
We produce and add value to Thermoplastic Elastomers: highly flexible, strong materials.
TPU: shock absorbent
We produce and add value to Thermoplastic Polyurethane: a flexible, shock-absorbing plastic that is extremely resistant to wear and tear.
Elastic cord and bands
We also produce elastic bands and cord. You can order these on our dedicated website: elasticmaterials.nl.
Production process
1. Development and testing
Every new product starts with an initial test. With decades of experience, extensive knowledge of materials and advanced testing and production facilities, we work continuously on special developments at our production facility in Nijkerk.
According to your requirements, we determine the appropriate proportions of hard and soft components in the material, in order to achieve the optimum balance between elasticity and strength for your application.
2. Production to film
Once we have your agreement on the composition, we produce your material. We do this by means of extrusion: we force the raw material through a die – a tool that re-shapes the raw material into a thin film. The friction in combination with external heating raises the temperature of the raw material to the melting point, such that it can be forced through the die.
A controlled-tension system then pulls the plastic from the extruder and we cool the material using air or water.
3. Die-cutting and slitting
Following extrusion, we can die-cut or slit the film to any desired shape.
4. Bonding to other materials
• TPE film can be bonded without the use of adhesive to a large number of plastics, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). The film can also be bonded directly to textiles, both single and double-sided.
• TPU film adheres well to other materials by means of gluing. Either solvent or water-based glue can be used.
5. Recycling
Thermoplastic materials are recyclable: Vreeberg collects all scrap material from production for re-use in the production process. We also frequently re-use clean scrap from customers.
Moving towards more sustainable production
Local production
We produce all materials at our production site in Nijkerk. Compared to production in, say, China, this greatly reduces the transport impact on the environment.
Produced without chemicals
Most synthetic and natural rubbers are the result of a chemical process – a chemical cross-link between molecules. Such rubbers are therefore not re-usable as feedstock for production, i.e. the process is irreversible.
The production of TPE and TPU requires no chemicals. That makes these plastics suitable for e.g. medical applications, or seals in drinking water networks. This is possible because TPE and TPU are formed by mechanical molecular links. The material can therefore be used as a feedstock again and again, simply by granulating the material and again extruding it.
Bio-based plastics are also possible
Our plastics are presently petroleum-based. Should you wish to reduce the CO2 emissions of your product, we can offer you elastic film based on vegetable oils. We can also produce both elastic and shock-absorbing plastics from e.g. rape seed oil or sunflower oil.
Contact us to learn more about bio-based elastic plastics.
Vreeberg’s roots
Elastic materials since 1922
Cornelis van der Donk founded the Terpo Rubber company in 1922. He started off in The Hague as a specialised manufacturer of technical rubber products. As time passed, the company focused more on the trade in rubber bands.
Strepper® bundling system
In the last decade of the 20th century, Terpo developed a new bundling system with rubber bands. The system consists of a bundling machine, the Elastobinder®, and a roll of elastic bands, or Strepper®. The production of the Strepper® also brought Terpo into contact with new materials: TPEs, or Thermoplastic Elastomers.
Founding of Vreeberg in 2004
In 2004, Kees van der Donk Jr. started with the production and marketing of elastic materials under the name Vreeberg. Our goal is to help clients discover the perfect extruded elastic material for their applications.