NEWS
MakerBot joins with
Ultimaker MakerBot and Ultimaker, both specialised in desktop 3D printing, have agreed to merge. This will be backed by existing investors, NPM Capital and Stratasys, who will invest a further $62.4m to fuel innovation and expansion into new markets. Subject to regulatory approval, the deal should close in Q2 or Q3.
Nadav Goshen and
Jürgen von Hollen, currently CEOs of Maker- Bot and Ultimaker respec- tively, will be co-CEOs of the new company. The former will manage operations and R&D, while the latter will take charge of commercial functions. Both of the headquarters sites, in the US and Nether- lands, will be retained. �
www.makerbot.com �
www.ultimaker.com
VDMA cuts German machinery outlook
The VDMA, the trade association of the German plastics and rubber machin- ery industry, has revealed that orders fell by 27% year-on-year in Q1 2022, while turnover grew by 3%. As a result, it is now reduc- ing its growth forecast for 2022 from 5-10% to 0-2%. VDMA Managing Director
Thorsten Kühmann said: “We only expect a sideways movement or – in the best case – a slight increase in turnover for 2022, despite full order books.” He said that the decline in Q1 partly reflected the drop from strong demand in Q1 2021 from the packag- ing and medical sectors, but it also showed that VDMA members are finding it increasingly difficult to convert a high number of pre-orders into sales. “First and foremost, there
Above: Kühmann: “We expect a sideways movement or a slight increase in turnover for 2022”
is the poor availability of materials,” Kühmann said. “In addition, as a result of the Ukraine war and the strict zero-Covid policy in China, many factors, such as logistics problems and great- er uncertainty in the market, are having a negative impact on business.”
Since making this forecast, the VDMA has
announced that there had been “a noticeable decline in incoming orders in mechanical and plant engineering” for a second consecutive month in April 2022. Orders in Q1 fell short of the level seen in April 2021 by 7% in real terms. Domestic orders fell by 17% and orders from abroad by 2%, with a more marked fall in non-Euro areas. “Several factors were responsible for this,” said VDMA chief economist Dr Ralph Wiechers. “Especially in domestic business, a high figure from the previous year also played a role in the significant decline. Overall, orders suffered from the slowdown in China, numer- ous production disruptions and the direct and indirect consequences of the Ukraine war,” he said. �
http://vdma.org/kug
Engel launches two packaging centres
Engel has officially inaugurated new technology and expertise centres dedicated to packaging at two locations, Schwertberg and St Valentin, in Austria. This is designed for customers to test the company’s injection moulding systems, particularly with regard to cycle time and energy efficiency. The production cells available include all-electric E-cap machines for manufacturing caps and flip-top lids, E-speed machines for thin-walled containers and pails, and Duo-speed, dual-platen machines for large containers. The all-electric E-mac injection moulding machines can also be used. All of the machines are equipped with smart assistance systems from Engel’s Inject 4.0 programme, including the iQ weight control. Also available are moulds from the various product groups on site, peripheral systems from partner companies and automation systems developed both in-house and by external partners like Campetella and Beck. �
www.engelglobal.com
8 INJECTION WORLD | June 2022
Above: Visitors to Engel’s inauguration event in Austria
www.injectionworld.com
IMAGE: VDMA IMAGE: ENGEL
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
