KraussMaffei wants to compete on technology, not volume

Orlando, Fla. — While the past year has not been easy for plastics machinery manufacturers either in Europe or the Americas, Nolan Strall, president of KraussMaffei Corp. North America (W600), seems relatively unfazed by the current situation in the markets.

"Yes, the markets have gotten a lot more challenging, with our Asian competitors producing very, very high volumes," he said. "But that's not what KraussMaffei is about. We're innovators. We drive the development and innovation ecosystem of the future for the plastics industry."

During a tour of the company's booth at NPE2024, it became apparent what Strall was referring to. The first stop was a big circular economy exhibit, which showed how a short-lived blood vial is recycled into a bottle opener "in just minutes," according to the field applications engineer leading the tour.

The vials, made from a medical-grade polypropylene from ExxonMobil, are produced on a PX 251-1400. These are shredded and melted, liquid color additives are mixed in and homogenized, and pelletized using an underwater pelletizer. The color stability is monitored by a photometer. The pellets are processed on an electric PX81-180 into a new product: a bottle opener.

"We're combining injection molding with our extrusion technology, taking injection molding to places it's never been before," Strall said.

"We're combining injection molding with our polyurethane, reaction processing technology for overmolding. We're also injection molding materials that have never been injection molded," he added, this time referring to another exhibit showcasing the company's DCIM technology.

DCIM, short for Direct Compounding Injection Molding, allows for compounding and injection molding in one step. The recycled materials used in the booth exhibit are three different grades, including a blow molding grade, which are recompounded into a new material in a technology that saves energy and resources.

"We're able to make very high-level advances for industry that are extremely desirable, especially in the U.S. right now, in terms of CO2 emissions reductions and some of the initiatives that our legislation has for the years to come," Strall explained.

"Our specialty is higher technology. We look to innovate on injection molding and bring in additional technologies and applications. That's our business."

Asked about the challenges currently facing KraussMaffei, other than those related to economics or geopolitics, Strall noted that getting customers on board and supporting them with the demands of the circular economy may be one of the biggest.

"We're technological or technology experts in injection molding and extrusion. We have some great and innovative solutions, like DCIM, but being able to recognize the value case and bring that forward to the customers is something that we're really focused on," he said.

"It's also a question of asking the right questions, questions like, 'How does your process work today?'" he added. "Or, 'How are you getting your raw material? What are your customers asking you to do? And how can we help?'"

Having headquarters in Europe was also an advantage, he said.

In Europe, sustainability has been an important topic for the past decade. "Our U.S. customers have now woken up to the fact that sustainability is not just a passing phase. We're receiving many more questions from OEMs about how we can help them to reach their sustainability goals."

Partnerships through which the company can showcase its technology, participating in technical talk at OEM R&D centers, understanding more about their customers' needs and where their designs are going into the future, and using the expertise and experience garnered in Europe — this is how KraussMaffei is approaching the challenge of supporting their customers in the mindset change that is needed.

"We're uniquely positioned in the U.S. as KM, I would say, to help those customers really understand what they can do for sustainability," Strall said.

It is perhaps the biggest difference with the previous NPE show. In 2018, the focus was very much on big tonnage and making big machines. "And we did not have those relationships with customers in place then," Strall said.

"We've developed new technology centers over the last four years, establishing partnerships to be able to bring to the U.S. what we've done in Europe for decades, to really show the market we can do from a technology standpoint."

The turnkey production cell on show at the booth is an impressive piece of automation technology.

According to Strall, the growth in demand for automation is one of the bigger evolutions of the plastics industry. The job market in the U.S. has changed since COVID-19, and skilled labor is very hard to find. In the past, he said, the return on investment for doing post-molding automation might not have been there.

"Now, our customers are really saying we've got to help them make it happen because the people they need to run their operations are just not there. And those that they do have shouldn't be tied up doing simple jobs that robots can do. That's what we're focused on in the U.S. — taking that skilled workforce and helping our customer redeploy them in other areas of their factory works."

KraussMaffei in the U.S. has for many years utilized the automation team in Europe, but since COVID, it has been a less-than-ideal situation.

"We've been really on a mission since around 2020 to localize our automation capability. We'd like to be able to bring some of the designs we've done successfully in Europe and transfer that technology to the U.S. We intended to do simple automation, standard and modular systems that can be redeployed and redeployed on machines other than injection molding," Strall said.

The company is currently designing a system for a major computer numerically controlled machine manufacturer, using the same system design for other industries, as well. "There's really no difference," said Strall.

"It's not as though we're going to turn into a CNC service company. But we are definitely looking at similar applications to open up another market for us in automation to broaden our market share."

Asked about the markets that looked promising for the future, Strall mentioned two that KraussMaffei was focusing on.

In his view, chemical recycling is currently one of the biggest trends. KraussMaffei is implementing a solution for PureCycle Technologies in Ironton, Ohio, which is in the process of starting up. "We have a very good partnership with PureCycle. We're looking forward to their next facility, in Augusta, Ga. So that's probably the biggest clear and present activity."

Another industry trend is the switch from the use of thermosets in aerospace applications to thermoplastics. Upcoming aerospace industries, said Strall, are very focused on thermoplastic technology.

"And that's where we can help further the sustainability efforts — from lightweighting, because with thermoplastics, joining and weldbonding can replace rivets and fasteners — and at the end of life. Thermoplastics can be recycled. Thermosets, for the most part, cannot be. In hindsight 30 or so years ago, when these planes were being initially designed, it would probably have been wise to have looked closer at thermoplastics. But thermosets were the established materials in the market at the time. Now, we are conducting research with our partners aiming to come up with better, more sustainable solutions."