Engel (Schwertberg, Austria) and Fill (Gurten, Austria) have put a seal on their partnership in the area of composite manufacturing. The two companies will be working together to produce tailored turnkey solutions for the industrial-scale manufacturing of fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) components.

"The aim of our partnership is to meet the demands of the market even more effectively and drive the industrialisation of composite processes forward even faster," says Franz Füreder, Vice President of Engel's Automotive business unit. We are delighted that in Fill we have found a partner whose technologies are also the world's best and who, like Engel, prioritizes research and development."

Components made from FRP will play a key role in automotive lightweight construction. At the moment, however, the biggest challenge is developing economically-viable processes for the mass production of innovative composite parts.

With its system and automation expertise, injection moulding machine manufacturer Engel already has one success factor that is crucial for this. For its part, Fill enhances Engel's product portfolio in the area of preform manufacturing and processing. Says Füreder: "Interdisciplinary competence is absolutely essential if an FRP project is to be successful. It's only when the materials, designing and process steps are all coordinated with each other perfectly that the productivity and cost efficiency levels required in the automotive industry can be achieved."

Engel has been collaborating with partner companies, universities and other research institutes in the field of automotive lightweight construction for many years now and in 2012 set up its own technology centre for lightweight composites at its large-size machine factory in St. Valentin, Austria. It was this that prompted the partnership with Fill as well. The two partners have already successfully completed their first projects for international automotive groups.