Luigi Bandera (1921 – 2003) began the history of plastic extrusion in Italy during World War II. He invented the first extruder, a 60 mm screw for PVC pipes and profiles. Under his leadership, the company he founded became a global leader in designing and manufacturing complete lines for the extrusion of plastic materials.

Mr. Bandera started working in the late 1930s as a design engineer while starting his activity officially after World War II. He was one of the first to understand that switching from piston technology to screw extrusion allowed better control, efficiency, and flexibility in extruding different polymers.

In 1947, at the age of 25, he founded Costruzioni Meccaniche Luigi Bandera in Busto Arsizio, his hometown. The company originally focused on PVC and rubber extrusion systems.

In 1950, the business underwent a remarkable expansion to reach industrial-scale production of thermoplastic resin extrusion systems, offering a wide range of products, such as pipe extrusion lines, profile extrusion equipment, and sheet extrusion lines.

With the advent of coextrusion systems in the 1960s, Bandera led the way in designing and producing multilayer lines which included the largest five-layer coextrusion line for blown film application at the time, and the first high-thickness membrane extrusion. A milestone in the success of Bandera came in the 1990s with their patented dryless technology for direct extrusion of PET. The idea completely revolutionized the industry.

Bandera is one of the world’s best-known plastic-blown film and sheet extrusion machinery manufacturers. In 1998, Bandera received an ISO 9001 Quality Certificate. Currently, 35,000 Bandera extruders run worldwide, producing 54,000 tons of extruded polymers per day.

Luigi Bandera was awarded Cavaliere della Repubblica, one of the highest honors bestowed by the President of the Italian Republic. Bandera is remembered as a unique personality with a strong technical view and a charismatic leadership style. He was actively involved in the local community through numerous charity foundations and was famous for his philanthropy. Bandera held 26 patents.