NEWS


North America: plastics machine deliveries fall


The delivery value of primary plastics machinery in North America declined in the first quarter of 2019, according to the statistics compiled and reported by the Plastics Industry Associa- tion’s Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES). Although 2018 ended


with strong plastics machin- ery deliveries, 2019 has fallen behind. The prelimi- nary estimate of the value from reporting companies totalled $273m – which was nearly 28% lower than the fourth quarter of 2018. Injection moulding ship- ments fell by 26.3%. “First quarter data usually comes in soft, but the declines reflect the expecta- tion of weaker US and global economic growth,” said Perc Pineda, chief economist at the associa- tion. “Price effects were also at play in the first quarter.


Pineda: “Declines reflect the expectation of weaker US and global economic growth”


The producer price index on industrial machinery manufacturing has been on a decline from its peak in the third quarter of last year.”


In CES’ quarterly survey of plastics machinery suppliers, asking about present market conditions and expectations for the future, 70% of the respondents expect condi- tions to either improve or


hold steady in the second quarter. Over the next 12 months, 60% expect the market to be steady-to- better.


On the international


front, plastics machinery exports reached $363m – which was short of the $417m exports in the fourth quarter of 2018. Exports to Canada and


Mexico in the first quarter were around $78m and $73m, respectively, ensuring that they remained the largest US export markets. “Demand in the plastics industry is expected to remain positive against the backdrop of slower US economic growth this year,” said Pineda. “However, plastics machinery makers should also consider that weaker global economic conditions will have knock- on effects on the industry.” � www.plasticsindustry.org


Open house for ACH


ACH Solution USA, the American arm of an Austrian manufacturer of LSR and high tempera- ture vulcanised silicone rubber tooling and turnkey systems, has hosted an open house at its new technical sales office at Sarasota, Florida. The centre is equipped with an injection mould- ing machine, an integrat- ed robot and dosing equipment, and will be offering sales and customer training and support. During the event, customers saw a moulding cell using one of ACH’s standard valve gated cold runner systems used for proto- type development, on a tiebarless Engel Victory 200/130 Hy-tech machine with an integrated Viper 20 robot for part removal. � www.ach-solution.com


Heiform opens new building in Germany


Tool manufacturer Heiform has nearly tripled its production area at Bad Salzuflen, Germany, adding a new 460 m² building that takes the total to 760 m². The company said that increased demand for injection moulding tools meant it had been outsourc- ing the production of some compo- nents until the start of this year, increas- ing its logistical costs. It said it wanted to make these processes more efficient and bring them back in-house. “Our premises were previously very


narrow, which was already making component storage expensive, for


6 INJECTION WORLD | June 2019


Heiform has increased mould production capacity with its expansion


example,” said Carsten Kopsieker, Managing Director of Heiform. “Thanks to the new space, we have increased our in-house production capacity, and


in doing so also enabled our staff to work more pleasantly and safely.” The new building was built between February and November 2018, when the first machines were put into service. Final external work was completed at the end of March. The new building, which con- nects the previous two, now houses five machines for producing injection moulding tools, two new wire cutting machines and a starting hole drill. An adjoining domestic building is cur- rently being refurbished to expand the office space and staff meeting rooms. � www.heiform.de


www.injectionworld.com


PHOTO: HEIFORM


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