news
German machinery makers prepare for record year
German plastics and rubber machinery makers ended 2013 with sales down by 1% on the previous year but are on course to grow by 6% to hit a new record of €6.9bn for 2014, according to industry associa- tion VDMA. “The result for the year is
largely in line with our forecast,” said Ulrich Reifen- häuser, chairman of the VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery
Association. “At K’2013 we pre- dicted that the industry’s sales would be marginally below the 2012 level.” According to VDMA, weaker
domestic order intake during 2013 was compensated by strengthening overseas demand, including accelerat- ing growth from the euro-zone countries. For the period to November 2013 foreign deliveries were up by 4.1% on
the previous year, reaching a near record result of €4.6bn. “Our top sales markets are
proving very strong: China is more than making up for last year’s dip in growth and the US is also growing faster than average,” said Reifenhäuser. “Within the EU, our members’ reports confirm the rates of growth in exports to Italy, Spain and Portugal.” ❙
www.vdma.org
Ferromatik wins iF design prize
Injection machinery maker Ferromatik Milacron has won a
prestigious iF product design award for its F-Series and Elektron moulding machines. The Malterdingen, Germany-
based company secured its award in the industry/
skilled trades category for the striking visual design of the machines, which it developed three years ago in collaboration with German design house Defortec. “The new design creates
strong brand recognition for our products and has contrib- uted to the renewal of our image and a new phase of growth for the company,” said Thorsten Thümen, director of research and development at
Ferromatik. ❙
www.ferromatik.com
Sales up 6.6% at Plastic Omnium
French headquartered Plastic Omnium reported sales for 2013 of €5.12bn, up by 6.6% on the 2012 result. The company, which has 110 manufacturing plants in 29 countries, reported growth in all world regions including western Europe, where it saw sales grow by almost 13% to €1.44bn. Sales at Plastic Omnium Automotive grew by
a little more than 7% to €4.66bn, helped by the successful introduction of a number of new
6 INJECTION WORLD | March 2014
vehicle projects, including the Range Rover Sport, Skoda Superb, Nissan Qashqai and Peugeot 208 and 308 models. The company said it has seen its share of the
world automotive exterior components business grow from 8% to 10% and its fuel systems market share from 16% to 22% since 2010. Growth in the Plastic Omnium Environment division was a little less than 2%. ❙
www.plasticomnium.com
news in brief
❙ Japanese automotive interiors group Toyota Boshoku and Toyota Central R&D labs claim to have developed an alloy of PP and bio-based PA11 that offers better impact performance than current PC-based alloys. The developers say the material has a co-contin- uous nano-scale phase structure created by special compatibilisers. The next stage of development is to adapt the technology for production.
www.toyota-boshoku.com
❙ Automotive components group Samvardhana Motherson Peguform (SMP) is building a second produc- tion facility in Bavaria in Germany to produce painted bumpers and other vehicle components. The plant is scheduled for completion in November and will have an annual paint line capacity of 1.4m parts, according to the company. SMP already operates a plant at Neustadt an der Donau.
www.smp-automotive.com
❙ US-based EVCO Plastics has remodelled its Technology Centre at its headquarters at DeForest, Wisconsin, US, allowing it to offer customers improved support for developing automated moulding projects. The 500m2 facility houses four injection moulding machines from 35 to 450 tonnes, including a new 80 tonne vertical Engel machine. It also includes full air conditioning and a five tonne bridge crane.
www.evcoplastics.com
www.injectionworld.com
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