NPE 2018 | TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
and parts recommendation. Bruce Catoen, Mila- cron’s Chief Technology Officer, said at the Milacron press conference that no other NPE exhibitor was displaying connected moulds, in addition to connected machines. The centrepiece of Milacron’s booth was its new
Above: A router fitted into a Witt- mann Batten- feld injection moulding machine as part of Wittmann 4.0 functionality
Right: Milacron launched its M-Powered connectivity and service suite at NPE 2018
play approach, as Preusse demonstrated at the group’s booth by simply and quickly switching connections between a Wittmann Battenfeld injection moulding machine and nearby auxiliaries, including two temperature controllers. Wittmann Group’s sales in 2017 hit €403m, which was 7% higher than in 2016 and a new company record, said Michael Wittmann, CEO of the group. The continuing growth in sales has put pressure on the group’s capacity and delivery times for some advanced injection moulding machines can be 30-32 weeks, which Wittmann acknowl- edged was too long. The group has responded with investments at its global subsidiaries in Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary, South Korea and Mexico. Georg Tinschert, managing director of Wittmann Battenfeld, said an expansion of capacity at the group’s Kottingbrunn facility in Austria had increased the production area for MacroPower injection moulding machines. Another investment will see work start in June on a new building near its existing one in Moirans, France, he said. NPE 2018 provided the launchpad for Milacron
Group’s M-Powered, a portfolio of observational, analytical and support services for customers of its injection moulding, hot runner and mould-making technologies. M-Powered is delivered by ServTek through new connectivity in the group’s technol- ogy. This includes remote service capability, remote monitoring with OEE and downtime analytics, and data collection with maintenance
30 INJECTION WORLD | May 2018
Cincinnati 2,250 US ton machine, which it said was the largest tonnage injection moulding machine ever run at an NPE show. The machine was shown moulding a large automotive dash part weighing 10.5 lbs. The cell also featured a Mold-Masters TempMaster iM2 temperature controller integrated into the injection machine as well as DME mold components and a Sepro 6 axis robot. Catoen said an even larger machine — 6,750 US tons — was being built for structural foam moulder 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics based in Ohio, US. From May, Engel has rolled out its E-connect online service system to the USA, Canada and Mexico, with South America to follow soon. The group has also made its iQ Flow Control available in the North American market, as one of the various iQ smart optimisation features of its Inject 4.0 function- ality. Stefan Engleder, CEO of Engel Group, spoke of a growing trend towards self-optimising injection moulding machines during Engel’s press conference. Mark Sankovitch, President of Engel’s US subsidiary, is a member of the Plastics Industry Association’s Equipment Council and he chairs the council’s Industry 4.0 sub-committee. He said: “We are on a learning curve [about Industry 4.0] in North America. It hasn’t grown roots in the market
yet.” But an increase in machine productivity could help drive manufacturing growth in the US, which is a goal of policy
makers, he said. Engel Machinery Inc, based in York, PA, has
enjoyed good growth since NPE 2015, said Sankovitch. It has increased its staff by 80% since then to 210 this year, with growth in engineering, automation and sales departments. Christoph Steger, Chief Sales Officer at Engel Group, said that the Americas’ share of the group’s €1.51bn turno- ver in 2017/18 increased from 24% to 26%. Two percentage points “moved” from Europe’s share of sales (55% in 2016/17 and 53% in 2017/18) to the Americas, he said. Engel’s sales in Mexico were at an all-time high, largely due to strong demand in
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