Industry Watch 20161

First U.S. Microsystem 50 customer debuts

RapidWerks LLC (Chicago, IL) is Battenfeld’s very first customer in the U.S. for its Microsystem 50. The Microsystem 50 is a leading-edge, self-contained injection molding cell designed to produce parts weighing .1g or less. Less than a year old, RapidWerks’ formal debut was at MD&M West 2004 in Anaheim, CA (Jan. 6-8).

One of the most striking parts RapidWerks displayed last month in its MD&M West booth was a metal-to-plastic conversion—a tiny 4.2-mg component used in cardiovascular repair procedures. It’s molded in Torlon 4203L, a polyamide-imide from Solvay Advanced Polymers LLC. Micromolding the part cost about 30% less than machining it in stainless steel, according to Scott Herbert, RapidWerks’ GM.

Herbert describes RapidWerks as a full-service custom molder and moldmaker exclusively dedicated to micromolding. Its services include part design and engineering, rapid tooling and SLA prototyping, insert and overmolding, and contract assembly. Medical is a target market. Telecom, mobile computing, and automotive also are in its sights.

RapidWerks is a division of Stratos Lightwave Inc., a public company also based in Chicago. It was created in 2003 in a restructuring of B&H Mold, a captive micromoldmaker/micromolder that Stratos Lightwave acquired three years ago.

The company has sunk $700,000 into sophisticated quality inspection systems to support its micromolding activities. In addition to its Microsystem 50, RapidWerks runs 12 other small-tonnage presses. Its 40,000-sq-ft shop is a UL-approved, ISO 9001-2000-certified facility that houses a Class 10,000 cleanroom. It employs 20 and presently is doing almost $2 million in sales.

Canon acquires Japanese moldmaker

Noting that in-house development capabilities for key proprietary product components are critical to its overall corporate strategy, computer, photographic, copier, and optical products manufacturer Canon Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) announced that Igari Mold of Nishi Ibaraki-gun, Japan will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon as of March 17. Founded in 1972, Igari specializes in high-precision molds for products such as appliances and electronic equipment. For its fiscal year ending Feb. 28, 2003, Igari’s 160 employees created nonconsolidated sales of ¥2.33 billion ($21.96 million), of which 7% came from Canon.

An attractive offer for Celanese

During a December press conference, Celanese AG, parent company of Ticona, announced that it supports an offer from Blackstone Capital Partners (New York, NY) to purchase the company at a price of e32.50/share.

This event followed closely on the heels of a Ticona announcement that it would sell its nylon 6/6 business to BASF in a move designed to shed products in which it did not have a leading market position.

According to Claudio Sonder, Celanese chairman, the company has spent the last four years refocusing itself to become a market leader in each of its core businesses. He explained that the purchase by Blackstone would help to continue this strategy and allow Celanese to move forward with internal growth as well as acquisitions, by making capital available.

Rather than signaling alarm, the intended purchase by Blackstone appears to be a boost for all Celanese businesses, including Ticona. Plans for Ticona include greater penetration into automotive, medical, and E/E.

Demag unifies global strategy; Van Dorn brand is dropped

The Demag Plastics Group (DPG) says that all the injection molding machines made at its manufacturing locations in Europe, Asia, and the Americas are now being marketed under the single brand name Demag (www.dpg.com).

What was the Van Dorn Demag Corp. in Strongsville, OH is now Demag Plastics Group Corp. The Van Dorn name as a machine brand has been discontinued, as has the Ergotech name that had been coming from the German, Indian, and Chinese manufacturing plants. Since the end of 2003, all new machines have been delivered with the same graphic identity from all factories.

DPG also clarified its global machine platform strategy, which offers machines on three levels: standard, performance, and elite. The levels are coordinated with specific markets on which the company is concentrating. For example, the elite level is aimed at packaging, automotive, and medical applications.

DPG’s global platform strategy allows manufacturing capacity to be allocated to a variety of geographic markets. For instance, the Indian factory will supply, besides the Asian subcontinent, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. The ability to manufacture the same machines in various markets will also help the company protect itself from currency exchange fluctuations such as the current weakness of the dollar against the euro.

Demag is also strengthening its system supplier capability through working alliances such as that with moldmaker Schöttli for cap/closure systems aimed at the Chinese market. While announcing the global strategy, DPG said it would unveil a 150-ton model of its new Bars molding machine, made specifically for the Russian market, at the Interplastica Show in Moscow at the end of February. It is designed to offer an economical and performance alternative to molders that have been buying used machines or systems from Asian suppliers, and will be assembled in Russia by partner company PKF Betar of Chistopol.

Demag Plastics Group’s sales in its 2003 fiscal year reached a315.8 million ($388 million), and the company says its global market share, excluding Asian low-tech machines, was 11.3%.

Growth in auto air ducts

Making automotive ductwork by both injection molding and blowmolding has helped Toledo Molding & Die grow 15% to 20% in the last two years. A recently opened 194,000-sq-ft plant in Tiffin, OH will be joined in Q1 2004 by a new 92,000-sq-ft plant in Elba, AL. Keeping up with the growth required adding 11 Milacron Tracker industrial blowmolding machines, as well as 11 large Milacron Maxima Series injection systems.