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Pollmann shuts Vitis site and transfers machinery


Austrian automotive supplier Pollmann has begun relocating its Vitis production site to nearby Karlstein. This is because the company is closing opera- tions at Vitis – in the face of an automotive industry downturn – and will concen- trate production in Karlstein and at its plant in the Czech Republic.


It says it will retain all 71 employees from Vitis. “Pooling our production capacities at two locations is the only reasonable step,” said Stefan Pollmann, managing director of Pollmann. In June, Pollmann moved an automated 500-tonne injection-moulding housing production line. It is now


Pollmann: “Pooling produc- tion capacity at two locations is the only reasonable step”


running in a three-shift operation with an overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) of over 90%, says the company. In July, two more lines – which make door-lock housings – were moved. In parallel, Pollmann has


moved a production line to the Czech Republic. So far, around 95 tonnes of machin- ery and other equipment has been relocated. More will be moved in September, with the operation sched- uled for completion in early November. “Current market fluctua-


tions affect the entire industry, but instead of waiting for conditions to stabilise on their own we are taking a different path,” said Pollmann.


Once the move is complete, Pollmann plans to sell the Vitis site – and discussions with potential industrial buyers have already begun, says the company. �www.pollmann.at


Compound boosts prosthetic


Ottobock, which develops prosthetics to restore mobility, has used a special bronze-filled polymer from Lati in a plastic bushing that enables smooth knee flexion. The compound, called


Latimass SP11 RS-11 D040, is based on PA11 and heavily filled with bronze spheres. The chemical and physical nature of PA 11, combined with the proper- ties of the metal particles,


allows injection moulding of bushings with high self- lubrication properties and wear resistance. The bushings need to have a service life exceed- ing three million cycles. �www.lati.com


OPMobility sees flat sales in H1


Tier One auto supplier OPMobility saw flat sales in the first half of the year The company posted


sales of nearly €6 billion for the period, down around 0.4%. At the same time, profit (EBITDA) rose nearly 10% to €516m. It said that the impact


of tariffs on production volumes was limited, as many of its locations are “in close proximity to its customers’ sites”. “We achieved solid


earnings in the first half of the year,” said Laurent Favre, CEO of OPMobility. In its main markets, sales in Exterior & Lighting fell 3% to around €2.7bn, Modules rose around 8% to €1.9bn and Powertrain dipped nearly 3% to €1.3bn. In terms of regions, it saw a 4% improvement in Europe, a 9% dip in North America and a near-12% growth in Asia – driven mainly by a 21% growth outside China. (Growth within China was restrict- ed to nearly 2%.) �www.opmobility.com


Polytec results creep ahead in first half of year


Polytec has posted improved results for both sales and profits in the first half of the year. Sales rose to nearly €356 million, up just over 2%, due mainly to higher tooling and other engineering sales revenues. While profit (EBIT) rose more than 50%, it ended at less than €6m. In its Passenger Cars & Light


www.injectionworld.com


Commercial Vehicles segment, sales grew nearly 6% to €270m. Sales in the Commercial Vehicles business were flat at around €50m. In the Smart Plastics & Industrial Applications segment, sales fell nearly 15% to around €37m. Staff costs for the period fell 2.5%, due to a smaller headcount. The company also plans to close its


Weierbach plant in Germany in April 2026 and make further staff reductions. On 30 June 2025, it had around 3,600 employees compared with 3,900 one year previously – a reduction of 8%. The company estimates full-year


sales of €650m-700m in 2025 – com- pared to €678m in 2024. �www.polytec-group.com


September 2025 | INJECTION WORLD 5


IMAGE: POLLMANN


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