I started this thread in Germany because there were rumours circulating around and I wanted to clarify from my standpoint what was possible to clarify.
So I´m throwing in a short sum up in english here before people start using bablefish translations and the anti rumour thread goes the opposit way ;-)
People were speculating if new Agfa-like products will be made available by Agfa Gevaert through Maco or through ADOX made by former Agfa technicians in a partnership with ADOX in a micro factory.
I have no information about Maco´s plans so I can´t really comment on that.
All I do know is that Agfa Leverkusens way of emulsification was unique and APX recipes are made out for this unique way of making it. Thus it will be very, very hard to transfer them to another precipitation vessel using a different technology. As of my knowledge Gevaert cannot make APX films but they certainly can make other great films of all kinds if they decide to do so.
As far as our project is concerned we are in the posession of all necessary emulsion making equipment and have invested in a research project together with former Agfa engineers to recreate out of their knowledge the formulations and adapt them to our kettle size (40 Liters).
We already have newly coated lab samples of MCC which are excellent and are looking foreward to a small first test run of a few hundred sqm in July, making MCC and MCP.
These will then be given out to interested people out there to test (aplications welcome).
The film research project is sheduled to finish in November with completely re-made film samples from raw ingredients.
Depending on how this goes we would then shedule a first production for early to mid 2008 if Agfa´s leftover quantities are off the markets by then.
While most of this will be done either still in Agfas factory or in the facilities of the former Agfa engineers we will start building up our own facility as a parallel project.
We purchased a mid sized factory building near Berlin, located in a beautiful spa (
pictures) but are still waiting for the building allowance to hopefully come in 2008 (don´t´even ask...) and until then nothing much can happen on this end.
Our main goal for this whole project is to save the products and to get the micro factory up to running stage. We are aware of the fact that actual products can only be made with the help of larger companies in an economical way for the mid term. But in case the worse happens and more big players close down we will be there ready to go from this day on.
This factory will be so small that it does not run the risk of high fixed costs running it into bankruptcy. We will start with research only and moove over to emulsification while buying contract coating capacities and confectioning from other sources (we also bought test coating equipment and confectioning equipment but it is not really intended for larger production runs and would need to be rebuild).
If we can´t make the products to meet consumers expectations in terms of price and quality we won´t put any out and use the building for trade only.
I can´t possibly answer questions about available formats, quantites and prices yet.
We are here to do business and to serve customers needs and thus we will do anything necessary to produce as many products as possible and to make as much turnover as possible.
If the market supports the making of APX-like sheetfilms in different speeds and sizes we´ll make it.
Best regards,
Mirko
Resurrection of some former Agfa products 
Linear Mode
