Coperion open house draws 200+

Stuttgart, Germany – Tough market conditions didn’t stop a record number of participants attending the Coperion open house in Stuttgart, Germany, under the theme of “Compounding and Extrusion.” So many attended (+200) that the company was forced to outsource the presentations from its originally planned location in the company’s plant.

Why so much interest when mainstream media continues to predict doom and a lack of investment? Company CEO for compounding and extrusion Wolfgang Pöschl says, “I see the interest as a very good sign for our success. I think compounders may be using the current financial situation to carefully consider their production, hopefully invest, and be ready for the demand that is bound to come.”

Stefan Bader, business segment manager modular plants at the company, told MPW the word he was getting from open house participants was that they expect better times to come by the third quarter of this year. What they are looking for is equipment that can be used for fast product changes and refinements to their existing machinery park.

Continuing trends on the market, according to open house presenter Karsten Kretschmer, group manager compounding and extrusion at the South German Plastics Center (SKZ-KFE, Würzburg, Germany), centered on increased demand for color masterbatches, higher quality requirements placed on producers by their customers, small batch orders in JIT deliveries, and a wider choice of material available. He also said less research is being pumped into new products today as the availability of funds tightens.

Coperion, which changed its name from traditional brands Werner & Pfleiderer, Waeschle, Hartmann, and Keya in November of last year in a move consolidate the company’s profile and strategy, says most of its orders last year were for polyolefin compounding equipment. Pöschl  expects this to change in the near future as massive Middle Eastern projects are completed and resin suppliers there place orders for compounding lines. Future growth is also seen coming for equipment in engineering polymers. According to Pöschl, Coperion now holds 25% of the total global compounding machinery market.

According to Pöschl, Coperion now holds 25% of the total global compounding machinery market. He sees new markets for the company plastics processing equipment coming in India, Russia, and China. However, the company’s strategy appears to be spreading into new fields such as food processing extrusion and aluminum handling to limit its dependence on plastics. —[email protected]