Wittmann Battenfeld integrating technologies

Chicago, IL—General Manager Michael Wittmann reported that the company generated $330 million in revenue in 2008; a year where the challenging market forced a staff reduction from 1600 to 1350. In spite of broader difficulties, Wittmann Battenfeld is in the midst of multiple expansions, including a new 46,000-ft2 central facility in Meinerzhagen, Germany; a 28,500-ft2 expansion of its site in Hungary to vertically integrate press frame machining; a new 10,000-ft2 technical center in the Czech Republic set to open in the middle of 2010; and a new site in Bucharest, Romania, which opened on June 10.

Wittmann said Eastern Europe has been a bright spot in an otherwise dark market. “Those markets are still the most active in the world,” he said, adding they are also relatively close to the firm’s Vienna headquarters.

Georg Tinschert, managing director Wittmann Battenfeld in Europe, laid out the bleak numbers for injection molding machine sales globally, saying total units in 2009 will be halved from around 90,000 machines to 45,000, with Japan falling from 11,851 in 2008 to around 5000 and Europe dropping from more than 9000 to around 6000. “This year will go into the history books as the most difficult ever for the molding industry,” Tinschert said. In a tough market, however, Tinschert said his company had managed to increase its market share to 5.7%.

In terms of technology, the company announced it would be offering a new all-electric machine line, with the goal to have a 110-ton machine at the Fakuma show this fall in Germany and 55- to 300-ton versions at the K next year. The company’s re-entry into the large-press market is progressing, with a new large-tonnage machine currently in a test phase with a planned launch at the start of next year. The company will also expand the Micro range, adding a 15-ton model to the existing 5- and 8-ton micromolding systems. The company will also launch 24/7 remote web-based service starting in 2010. Tinschert said Wittmann Battenfeld has sold 1700 machines that offer a direct link to remote service, with 300 customers utilizing the program.

On the auxiliary and automation side, Dave Preusse, managing director Wittmann Battenfeld North America, presented a new R8 control platform which launched in North America, with parts of Europe already utilizing it. The control features TruePath movements, which officials believe allow the company’s linear-axis robots to move through a machine in ways that 6-axis robots do. In addition, a Smart Removal feature monitors injection molding machine motions to move in and out of the mold, with an ECO-mode feature saving robot wear by allowing axes that are on a non-critical path to move at less than full-out speeds. Finally, the robot controls have been fully integrated into the machine controls, allowing operators to switch from molding to automation.

The Tempro plus C350 (for 350°F) allows processors to use water instead of oil for high-temperature heat exchange and can work for larger presses. The Mould-Tek line of blenders acquired last year has been updated with several new features, including what the company calls real-time live-scale (RTLS) metering.

Wittmann said work on integrating robot controls in the Battenfeld machine’s B6 controls began immediately after the merger of the companies, and now allows signals to be exchanged in real time. Going forward, Wittmann said the goal is to integrate the controls of all the equipment it supplies to a molding cell, including temperature control units, drying, and things like loaders. Further down the line, Wittmann envisions a machine where all these elements are integrated into one machine frame, truly offering one-stop shopping. — [email protected]