Oldest Allrounder in operation tracked down in Arburg’s backyard

A German lingerie company that has used the machine to injection mold suspender clips for 45 years beat out 160 other firms vying to have the oldest Arburg Allrounder machine still in production. Wissner (Göppingen, Germany) commissioned the Allrounder 150 in 1966, five years after Arburg introduced its Allrounder machine to the market, and it has been running ever since. Wissner devised a method for feeding a fabric strip onto which a plastic component was injection molded.

Wissner's 1966 machine, which was only about 125 km from Arburg's headquarters in Lossburg, topped entries from 160 companies that came to the machinery manufacturer from Europe, the U.S., and even South Africa. Arburg partner Eugen Hehl awarded Wissner managing director, Andreas Lederer, with a new Allrounder 370 E during a Dec. 8 celebration in Lossburg.

Lederer was joined in the ceremony by Wissner production manager Siegfried Eberle and retiree Bernhard Nägele, who was responsible for commissioning the nominated machine, an Allrounder 150, in the fall of 1966 in order to produce suspender clips.

Wissner still runs 12 Allrounders today, including models from that first generation. The company injection molds components that provide supporting, shaping, holding, adjusting and fastening functions for lingerie and orthopaedic products. Beyond suspender clips, these include everything from bikini clips, bra underwires, and bandage accessories. Wissner plans to use the new Allrounder 370 E to develop and mold new orthopaedic and medical technology products among others.

Arburg said its 1961 launch of the Allrounder machine concept revolutionized injection molding by allowing production from different working positions via a pivoting clamp and interchangeable injection unit. "New, modern application processes were thus made possible," Arburg noted in a release. "Whereas in 1961, the Allrounder was a single machine for all applications, today, thanks to the unique modularity, the ideal machine can be individually configured for any application."