FAKUMA 2018 | SHOW REVIEW
usual uplift after the summer period, he said. Some of the negatives include the European market being a little lower than in 2018, and the market in Asia has also fallen back. But on the positive side, the North and South American markets have grown for the group in 2018. “Some of our international customers see a move away from China to other areas, to Mexico for instance,” he said. The group has a number of investment projects running at it facilities in Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Czech Republic and Mexico. In Germany, it recently merged its two businesses Wittmann Battenfeld GmbH in Meinerzhagen and Wittmann Robot Systeme GmbH in Nuremberg into one company in order to provide a more unified presence in the country. Another recent development has been Witt-
mann’s partner agreements in the area of Manufac- turing Execution Systems (MES). The company has already brought connectivity to injection moulding machines and auxiliary equipment, said Michael Wittmann. “We want to extend this co-ordination to the next level, which is MES,” he said. Wittmann Group has acquired a large sharehold- ing in ICE-flex, an Italian start-up with MES software called TEMI, which is being extended to include Wittmann 4.0 functionalities under the name TEMI+. The TEMI MES can be used in injection moulding operations of up to 50 machines. Wittmann has another, previously agreed deal with MPDV of Germany for MES solutions that can be used in operations of more than 50 machines. Michael Wittmann told journalists in a question and answer session the group had not made a full company takeover in MES because “we don’t believe it is our core business”. The young people at ICE-flex are enthusiastic about pursuing their ideas, and the size of Wittmann’s shareholding is “enough for them to keep their interest, but enough for us to have control of development work”, he said. The group’s partnerships with previous MES providers
ended when the first became bankrupt and the second was acquired by Engel. “Enough control [of ICE-flex] means we can avoid those two things happening again in the future.” Kistler Group made the decision it did want full ownership when it acquired MES provider IOS, based in Aachen, Germany, in 2017. Kistler is best known in injection moulding for its sensor technol- ogy that analyses mould cavity pressures. The acquisition of IOS takes Kistler to the next level by providing customers (initially in injection moulding, but subsequently in other processes) with a modular system that provides monitoring, control- ling and reporting functions across the entire manufacturing operation. “The topic of data management is becoming
more and more important,” said Robert Vaculik, Head of Kistler’s Strategic Business Field Plastics, who spoke to Injection World at Kistler’s Fakuma stand. IOS has around 100 MES installations at injection moulders worldwide, he said. Stefan Holzapfel, Manager of the Competence
Centre for MES at Kistler, said: “The plan is to continue developing the MES. Current IOS custom-
Above: Kistler’s Como Neo
system has new functionality
Xaloy®
Automotive Screw & Barrel Technology Innovative Solutions for Your Automotive Plastic Injection Molding Applications
Proven screw designs offer excellent mixing action and temperature control for higher productivity, better quality parts and minimal scrap
Best-in-class wear performance technology aids in prolonging equipment life, reducing down time and improving production efficiency
Our experienced global engineering team understands your process challenges and provides custom-engineered solutions to meet your needs
WWW.NORDSONPOLYMERPROCESSING.COM
EXTRAORDINARY TECHNOLOGIES FOR TODAY’S PLASTICS
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 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81