MAKING ACRYLIC SHEETS

Introduction

Acrylic sheet are used in manufacturing of scales, set square stencils, transparent covers of instruments, neon and fancy lighting signboards, fancy tables, storage boxes, floppy diskette, shelves for
audio cassettes and other novelty items. They have good weather resistance with highly durable optical clarity, high strength-to-weight ratio, good dimensional stability, good thermo-formability, etc. it costs US$ 103,984 with a capacity 30,000kg annually and estimated revenues are US$ 999 per annum.


Production process

In manufacturing process, a mixture of regenerated and virgin methyl methacrylate monomer is used to effect economy of operation. To obtain the regenerated polymer, the acrylic scrap is heated with certain chemicals to about 4000- 4500 C in a mild steel distillation still placed on a open fire or a furnace and fitted with a condenser and collecting flask. The heating operation results in cracking polymetyl methacrylate into crude methyl methacrylate monomer, which, after vaporizing, gets condensed and is collected in a tank, is redistilled to obtain the pure regenerated monomer. A mixture of the virgin monomer and regenerated monomer is mixed with the desired catalyst of benzyl peroxide and heated. After a desired degree of polymerization, the viscous mass is cooled, mixed with pearl essence colours and poured into moulds. The moulds are filled with prepolymerization mass and heated; finally they are dipped in a hot water bath to complete the polymerization. On complete polymerization, the sheets are cut into required sizes and covered with paper sheets.


Market Analysis

The market is flooded with products made of acrylic sheets. With some value addition, the acrylic manufacturing units can generate a lot of demand in urban and rural areas. Some sub-sectors where
demand could be tapped are the entertainment industry, information communication technology and outside advertising. This Industry is not yet established in Uganda.


Capital Investment Requirement in US $

Item

Units

Qty

Price

Total

Acrylic scrap depolmerization unit

No

1

1,750

1,750

SS distillation still

No

2

1,250

2,500

Coal fired boiler

No

2

2,500

5,000

Water storage tanks

No

2

350

700

Glass sheet moulds

No

1

1,500

1,500

Acrylic sheet cutter machine

No

1

750

750

Water circulation pumps

No

4

500

2,000

Total cost of Machinery & Tools

14,200




 

1.    Production costs assume 312 days per year with daily capacity of 96.2 Sheets.

2.    Depreciation (fixed asset write off) assumes 4 year life of assets written off at 25% per year for all assets.

3.     Direct costs include materials, supplies and all other costs incurred to produce the product.

4.    A production month is 26 days

5.     Currency used is US Dollars.

Production and Operating costs in US $
Direct materials, supplies and costs

Cost Item

Unit
s

Unit
Cost

Qty
/day

Prod
cost
/day

Prod
cost
/month

Prod
cost
/yr

Direct Costs







Acrylic scrap

kgs

50

3.21

160.26

4166.7

50,000

Methyl
methacrylate
monomer

Ltrs

50

0.16

8.01

208.3

2,500

Benzyl peroxide

Ltrs

30

0.10

2.88

75.0

900

calcium chloride

kgs

25

0.96

24.04

625.0

7,500

Pearl essence&
Colour

Ltrs

6

0.22

1.3

35

420

Caustic soda

Ltrs

11.5

0.13

1.5

38

460

Stearic acid

Ltrs

75

0.31

23.3

605

7,254

Packaging material

packets

2

3.21

6.4

167

2,000

Sub-total

228

5,919.5

71,034




General Costs (Overheads)







Labour

1,200

14,400





Selling & distribution

100

1,200





Utilities (Water, power)

500

6,000





Administration

100

1,200





Rent

400

4,800





Miscellaneous expenses

150

1,800





Depreciation

296

3,550





Sub-total

2,746

32,950





Total Operating Costs

8,665.3

103,984





 

Project product costs and Price Structure in US $

Item

Qty/
day

Qty/
yr

Unit
Cost

Pdn
cost/yr

Unit
price

Total
rev

Acrylic
Sheets

96.2

30,000

3.47

103,984

4

111,999

 

Profitability Analysis in US $

 Item

Per
day

Per
month

Per year

Revenue

385

10,000

111,999

Less: Production and operating costs

333

8,665

103,984

Profit

51

1,335

16,015