Engel feeling “all-electric” about future in packaging

York, PA - "Is all-electric the future? We say, 'yes,'" Christoph Steger, head of the Engel packaging business unit, told attendees during Engel Packaging Days 2013 (April 24-25) at the company's North American headquarters in York, PA.

As the injection machines such as all-electric Engel e-motion 740H/310V/180 T and an Engel e-cap 3440/420 hummed along in the background, the two-day packaging event featured technical presentations by a variety of industry players from companies such as Weatherchem, Healthy Brand Builders, and Trexel, as well as Engel representatives.

Many of the presentations centered on sustainability and energy savings, with Engel staking out places where all-electric machines could displace hydraulic.

Steger said that in the packaging market there is currently a limitation of current production equipment to answer the growing demand on sustainable and greener production methods. Packaging, in particular, places many demands on all the components of an injection molding machine.

Engel works to produce high performance all-electric machines that at the same time can help to dramatically reduce operating costs and save carbon footprint. The company's offerings make up a broad portfolio of automation and presses from simple sprue pickers to 5500-ton large-scale machines.

"The packaging market is developing quite well for us," Steger told PlasticsToday. "We've taken major steps for market penetration and landed several key international accounts, which shows the proof of concept and the featured benefits such as energy efficiency."

All-electric should be a molders "dream," said Joachim Kragl, director of advanced molding systems and processing for Engel North America.

"All-electric is no doubt the future for packaging," he said. "It will happen one way or another, which is good for building a sustainable world." 

During Packaging Days 2013, Engel showcased four molding systems that have been designed for packaging industry applications, and that demonstrated some of the most recent developments in both equipment and technologies for this ever-changing industry.

"Packaging is a right fit for us"

While Engel already has a strong presence in automotive, packaging has proved to be a great opportunity for the company, said Mark Sankovitch, president and CEO of Engel North America.

"Packaging is one of the few industries that require both large and small machines," he said.  "Packaging is a right fit for us."

He sees packaging as a key growth market for areas such as thin wall technology to the company's ecodrive option. Depending on the application and the machine, in comparison with conventional hydraulic machines, the Engel ecodrive servohydraulic produces energy savings of as much as 70%, with savings of up to 100% possible on cooling water for oil cooling.

Steger said having a global sales and service proximity to its customers, with 27 sales facilities in major markets and 60 representatives on the smaller markets, offers a competitive advantage. 

Sankovitch said Packaging Days is a good event for the company to show Engel's technology and also get players from all sides of the value chain to come in and share insight. The company is planning a similar event for the medical market in 2014.