When it comes to hot topics such as lightweight construction and Industry 4.0, Arburg states: "Wir sind da." – with its "Technology on Tour" roadshow. It includes 15 exclusive events for customers in the various regions and is currently touring Germany. The overwhelmingly positive response by participants shows that Arburg once again has its finger on the pulse of the times with this series of events.
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Oliver Giesen, Sales Director for Germany, welcomed the participants of Technology on Tour in Nuremberg in the Merks Motor Museum |
The extremely successful "Technology on Tour" event's first stop was Heilbronn in September 2017, the final event will take place in Munich in July 2018. True to the company's "Wir sind da." brand promise, Arburg seeks proximity to its customers and personal dialogue, despite the general trend towards digital communication. "With this exclusive series of events we are able to inform around 50 customers at each time directly and locally about trends in plastics processing – from Hamburg to Radolfzell and from Dresden to Radevormwald," explains Oliver Giesen, Sales Director for Germany. "Demand is high and the participants of the first five events held so far were absolutely delighted." It is therefore a very realistic option to take the roadshow to an international level in the coming years.
Question time: Lightweight construction and Industry 4.0
Customers praised the healthy mix of expert presentations, the live experience and get-together in a suitable setting as well as the start time of the event in the late afternoon which makes attendance possible outside business hours. The topics also met with approval. "I have gained a good overview of Industry 4.0 and lightweight construction and have learned how Arburg and the other attendees view and handle these issues," was the positive conclusion drawn by Klaus Dieter Schell, Technical Director at Heinlein Plastik-Technik from Ansbach. Max Strauß, Director of 1st Mould based in Pirna, was also pleased with the event and the exclusive setting. He suggested adding practical product demonstrations to the program in addition to the presentations. Christian Mirtschin, Technical Manager Factory 2 for Bergi-Plast GmbH in Dohma, added: "We were particularly interested in what Arburg offers its customers regarding Industry 4.0 and how we will be supported in this respect. I particularly appreciate Arburg's customer focus and reliability." Mr. Mirtschin added that Technology on Tour provided him with valuable ideas and suggestions to further develop his own concept for production digitalisation.
From paper into practice
"The compact presentations offer a first overview of the key topics, the details can be looked at in more depth later," said Oliver Giesen. One presentation, for example, introduces the ProFoam and Mucell lightweight construction processes as well as fibre direct compounding. If a customer takes a greater interest in one of these topics, the Arburg experts can give individual advice in the next step. In the Customer Center at the company headquarters in Lossburg, Allrounder injection moulding machines equipped with the specific customer parts can then be used to test which lightweight construction process is best suited to the particular application.
Industry 4.0 and digitalisation
The presentation on Industry 4.0 examines the digitalisation of production and innovative solutions. Among other items, it outlines new possibilities for added value by means of efficient production of small-volume batches and customer-specific one-off parts, requirements concerning the smart machine, smart production and smart services in the smart factory as well as the analysis of the gathered complex data and functions of assistance systems.
About Arburg
A German family-owned company, Arburg is one of the leading global manufacturers of plastic processing machines. The product portfolio encompasses Allrounder injection moulding machines with clamping forces of between 125 and 6,500 kN, the Freeformer for industrial additive manufacturing and robotic systems, customer and industry-specific turnkey solutions and further peripheral equipment.
The company places the topic of production efficiency at the centre of all its activities, taking into account the entire value-added chain. The objective is to enable ARBURG customers to manufacture their plastic products, whether as one-off parts or in high-volume production, with optimal quality and at minimum unit costs – e.g. for the automotive and packaging industries, communication and entertainment electronics, medical technology or the white goods sector.
An international sales and service network ensures first-class customer support at the local level: Arburg is represented by fully owned organisations at 33 locations in 25 countries and by trading partners in more than 50 countries. The machines are produced exclusively at the parent company in Lossburg, Germany. Of a total of around 2,800 employees, about 2,300 work in Germany. About 500 further employees work in Arburg's organisations around the world. In 2012, Arburg became one of the first companies to gain triple certifications: ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 14001 (environment) and ISO 50001 (energy).
