NEWS


Toyoda Gosei’s new production


In July, Toyoda Gosei began producing larger interior and exterior products for Toyota Motor at its Miyagi Ohira plant in Northern Japan. Toyoda Gosei already makes airbags, weatherstrips and other products, but front grilles and other plastic painted parts were previously supplied from other regions. It is hoped that moving more produc- tion to Tohoku, where Toyota Motor produces compact cars, will improve competitiveness and overall efficiency. The Miyagi Ohira plant


is a smart factory that pursues environmentally friendly manufacturing. It features large electric moulding machines. �www.toyoda-gosei.com


Minnesota Plastics & Rubber gets new owner


Trelleborg Group has signed an agreement to acquire Minnesota Rubber & Plastics for approximately $950m on a cash and debt-free basis. Minnesota Rubber & Plastics is a manufacturer of polymer and thermoplastic compo- nents, and a system pro- vider for technically de- manding applications, which operates in several industries such as medical equipment, water manage- ment and food & beverage. Peter Nilsson, President and CEO of Trelleborg Group in Sweden, said: “Minnesota Rubber & Plastics complements and strengthens Trelleborg’s current position and product offering in a number of fast-growing industries. The company is a very good fit


Left: Overmoulded connector produced by Minnesota Rubber & Plastics


outside Minneapolis, and it has a total of eight manufac- turing sites, of which four are in the US and the remainder in Mexico, UK, Czech Republic and China. Peter Hahn, Business


with our own business within precision seals, and the transaction is expected to generate significant syner- gies in terms of lower costs and higher production efficiency.” Founded in 1945, Minnesota Rubber & Plastics has annual sales of approxi- mately $225m and has demonstrated strong growth. Its headquarters and innovation centre is located


Area President of Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, said: “The acquisition makes us the natural development partner for sealing solutions for both local and global customers. The company’s new state-of-the-art innova- tion centre enables acceler- ated product development and strengthens us in R&D and areas such as health- care & medical.” � www.trelleborg.com �www.mnrubber.com


ZKW to expand production plant in Mexico


Austrian lighting systems specialist ZKW is investing $102m to expand its production plant in Silao, Mexico. The plant, which went into operation in 2016, is being expanded by 15,700 m² to a total of 48,700 m² of production space with the creation of 830 additional jobs. It manufactures high- quality headlights for premium car manufacturers such as BMW, Ford Lincoln, General Motors, Mercedes Benz, Nissan Infiniti, Volk- swagen and Volvo. By 2025, ZKW Mexico plans to


4


ZKW produces headlights for premium car manufacturers


IMAGE: ZKW


produce around 3.5m headlights per year and total investment in the Mexico site will be expected to reach $255m. Wilhelm Steger, ZKW


Group CEO, said: “One of INJECTION WORLD | September 2022


our main goals has been to work on innovations in terms of performance, quality, design and solutions.” The new building will be equipped with injection moulding systems, surface


treatments, and painting systems. ZKW is keen to explore a newly developed technol- ogy that increases the possibility of metallizing reflectors not only in aluminium but in new colours like silver, steel, rose gold and gold, and the production of optical lenses is being modernised to optimise product quality. ZKW is also developing a new type of headlamp with dynamic mechatronics and various integrated systems in collaboration with Volvo. �www.zkw-group.com


www.injectionworld.com


IMAGE: MRP


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