NEWS


CurTec expands to US


Netherlands-based CurTec is to open a new 3,000 m2


site at the


Oconee Industrial & Technology Park in South Carolina in the spring of 2023. This will be CurTec’s first facility outside the Netherlands and will serve as the main production facility for North America. The Dutch company


says there is also scope for future expansion. According to CEO Bart


van Berkel, the firm has seen “a strong increase in demand for high perfor- mance packaging by pharmaceutical, speciality chemicals and food ingredients customers in North America”. This will strengthen its market position and increase its service level, he added. � www.curtec.com


German converters report 12% sales rise


GKV, the trade organisation that represents German plastics processors, report- ed a rise of more than 12% in turnover last year. Despite this, the organi-


sation said that the sector was under heavy pressure from the rising price of both raw materials and energy – and that the outlook for 2022 was “mixed”. GKV said that sales rose to €69.4 billion (US$75.6bn) in 2021, an increase of 12.6% compared to 2020. Nearly 39% of sales (€27 billion, or US$29bn) were from exports – an increase in value of nearly 16%. At the same time, domestic sales rose by nearly 11%, to account for close to €43 billion (US$47bn) As well as an increase in


turnover, processing volumes grew by more than 5% to 15 million tonnes of plastic. Of this, 2.2m tonnes


German plastics converting, 2021 Sales 2021 (bn€) 42.5 27.0 69.4


Domestic Export Total


Source: GKV


was recyclate – a rise of 10%. In the same period, the industry’s workforce declined slightly to around 322,000 people. However, the number of processing plants fell by nearly 4%, to just over 2,900 facilities. Figures are not split into specific processes (such as injection moulding). However, the packaging sector – which is one of the largest plastics markets in Germany – saw close to 7% growth in the amount of material processed (4.7m tonnes). At the same time, turnover in the sector rose by more than 13% to nearly €16.3bn (US$17.7bn).


“Politicians urgently need


to reduce government surcharges on energy prices,” said Roland Roth, President of GKV. In a survey of members,


GKV said that 2022 is characterised by uncertain- ty. Just over one-third of members expect to raise profits this year, while just over a quarter expect profits to fall. This was due mainly to a difficulty in passing on higher costs. As a result, a number of companies are thinking about relocating or ending production – and potentially closing opera- tions, said GKV. � www.gkv.de


Hella invests in Austrian moulding site


Hella is investing “several million euros” in a three-level tool storage facility covering 450 m2


at the site of its Hella


Fahrzeugteile Austria subsidiary in Großpetersdorf, Austria. This has space for up to 60 large jigs and 150 injec- tion moulding machines, as well as an advanced LED lighting system.


Within the same invest-


ment, the company is also adding a 600 m2


logistics


hall for the storage of semi-finished products,


8 INJECTION WORLD | April 2022


bringing the site total to 2,400 m2


. It is installing


special temperature and humidity control, renewing


the ventilation and exhaust systems in the existing production and assembly halls, and adding two new


Hella Fahrzeugteile Austria subsidiary in Großpetersdorf, Austria


injection moulding ma- chines, largely to produce bigger parts in order to meet demand for complete headlamp covers. This is all scheduled for completion by the end of 2022. Further investments include upgrading the facilities and infrastructure to the latest technology, including Industry 4.0, and a photovoltaic system capable of generating up to 450 kWh at peak. � www.hella.com


www.injectionworld.com


% Change +10.7 +15.7 +12.6


IMAGE: HELLA


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58