Battenfeld back on track

With its new owner, the Wittmann Group, injection molding machine producer Battenfeld GmbH (Kottingbrunn, Austria) plans to re-invent itself as a technological leader in injection molding machines. General manager Georg Tinschert says the re-named Wittmann-Battenfeld will re-enter the large-tonnage field, and is also working on a new, modular all-electric series of machine it will present at the 2009 Fakuma show in Germany. It will grow from its current output of 800 machines annually to 1,500 in the next few years.

Battenfeld has been through hard times over the past year, and was almost sold by its owner, Germany's Adcuram at the end of 2007. That sale was rescinded as Tinschert, who had been with the firm less than a month at the time, put the company into receivership. Wittmann, based near Kottingbrunn in Vienna, Austria, was an unexpected buyer, but had one of the more far-sighted business plans for Battenfeld.

The move back into large-tonnage presses was planned before the sale. It's difficult for Battenfeld to appeal to molders that place orders for machines in several sizes when it only offers units up to 800 tons, as it does currently. The new, two-platen range that will be on the market in late 2010 will run from 500 to 1,600 tons, with larger presses being added later if demand is there.
This will require construction work in Kottingbrunn, a plant designed for nothing larger than 800 tons. Battenfeld's former larger-machine facility in Meinerzhagen, Germany, was closed two years ago, and sold.

In Canada, Wittmann Canada (Markham, Ont.) will become the new Battenfeld sales centre. Its facility manufactures materials handling systems, as well as having an engineering and sales team on hand, and has ample space for a showroom and a stock of spare parts. www.battenfeld-imt.com