Alpesh Patel
Director, Hitech Membranes Thailand
Challenge:
Hitech Membranes is a specialist manufacturer of spiral-wound reverse osmosis membrane elements with 20 years of experience in water treatment. The company has exceptionally stringent requirements for the quality consistency of its membrane element products. Alpesh has consistently focused on process upgrades and R&D, continuously optimizing production standards and pioneering many advanced production control methods to ensure that every membrane element leaving the factory meets performance requirements consistently.
In the membrane element production process, after the element is wound, it must wait for the adhesive to cure before membrane edge trimming can be carried out and the trimmed waste edges can be stripped away. As the adhesive has relatively high penetration, it can easily migrate through the carrier during curing and reach the central tube, bonding to it. As a result, the trimmed waste edges cannot be removed smoothly. The initial process relied mainly on manual stripping, which was extremely inefficient, because the bonded parts were difficult to separate, also created a high risk of damaging the membrane element.
To solve the challenge of edge trimming and waste-edge stripping while improving work efficiency and product quality, Hitech Membranes turned to WECOME for a professional solution.
Alpesh Patel, General Manager of Hitech Membranes, described the cooperation with WECOME as follows: WECOME’s outstanding customer service and firm commitment to develop new products made the success of this project clear. The team took the time to understand the unique challenges we faced and delivered a customized solution that fully matched our needs.
WECOME firstly recognized that, to prevent adhesive from penetrating the carrier during curing and reaching the central tube, a barrier material would be needed to block the adhesive. At the same time, the barrier material could not bond to the central tube. The initial exploration was difficult. We considered wrapping a non-adhesive PP film around both ends of the central tube. Because the PP film itself had no tack, workers then had to wrap an additional layer of transparent fixing tape outside the PP film. This consumed a large amount of labor and resulted in very low efficiency. More importantly, the entire process still depended on manual operation and could not meet the requirements of mass production.
Through continuous innovation and research, WECOME found that if the PP film sheet was processed into a die-cut adhesive tape with very fine glue lines on one side and the bottom edge, the PP film could self-adhere to the central tube. This eliminated the need for additional transparent fixing tape, reducing the process from two steps to one.
Most importantly, WECOME converted the updated PP film with glue lines into an adhesive tape product supplied in rolls of 2,000 pieces, making automated tape application possible. In 2018, WECOME was granted a patent for this new product, patent No. CN207789139U.
In 2019, WECOME also developed automatic tape-applying equipment for use with this product. After a whole year of continuous testing, WECOME finalized a dedicated machine matched to the product. On average, it takes only 1-2 seconds to apply each piece of tape, saving significant time and labor costs.
Impact
By adopting the patented product designed by WECOME, Hitech Membranes can complete the tape bonding process efficiently and connect it seamlessly with the subsequent membrane edge trimming and waste-edge stripping process. This laid a solid foundation for overall automated production and provided maximum assurance for reliable and consistent product quality.
Excellent Customer Service
In Alpesh Patel’s view, what truly sets WECOME apart is its firm commitment to excellent customer service. He commented: “The WECOME team is responsive, efficient and attentive to details
They responded promptly to all questions and concerns and consistently showed strong dedication to our project.
Their willingness to go the extra mile fully reflected their professionalism and contributed to the success of the project. They provided comprehensive support throughout the entire process .”
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead, Hitech Membranes is considering further advancing its automation program.
The success of the automated center-tube taping process has clearly demonstrated the potential of automation to optimize operational processes and reduce pressure on employees. Hitech Membranes believes that automation does not replace jobs; instead, it creates an opportunity to employ more technical personnel to supervise and maintain the automated packaging/taping system.
Discussing the ongoing cooperation with WECOME, Alpesh Patel said: “WECOME has always been a strategic partner for Hitech Membranes in improving operational efficiency and ensuring the quality consistency of spiral-wound membrane element products. With excellent customer service, top-tier R&D capability, a relentless commitment to perfection, and professional on-site support, WECOME has become the preferred partner for enterprises requiring one-stop solutions in the RO membrane filtration industry.”
Bessie has 10+ years of experience in RO membrane materials and water treatment supply chains. At WECOME, she helps manufacturers and system integrators worldwide source the right membrane components — from feed spacers and permeate carriers to NSF-certified adhesives — backed by hands-on technical support.
