Smart Molding International 3-2021

8 newsfeed smart_molding international 3/2021 The KraussMaffei Group will transfer all activities of the former KraussMaffei High Performance AG into an independent unit effec - tive October 1, 2021. This will operate under the tradi - tional name NETSTAL. The new subgroup will manage the NETSTAL New Machines and Service busi - ness worldwide from its sub - sidiaries. KraussMaffei CEO Dr. Michael Ruf: "With this step, we are taking into ac - count the wishes of our customers and reunit - ing the NETSTAL brand and the NETSTAL organization under a common name. We are convinced that in the fu - ture NETSTAL will be able to respond to customers and their applications with even greater focus than before and offer them the added value for which the NETSTAL brand has stood for many decades." The markets served by NETSTAL have proven to be c r i s i s - p r o o f even during the pandemic. KraussMaffei therefore anticipates strong growth in these areas - particu - larly in the medical as well as the PET seg - ments. Here, NETSTAL offers a machine series with the new PET Line that provides unique added value. Renzo Davatz will head NETSTAL as CEO and in this function will report directly to the KraussMaffei Group‘s CEO, Michael Ruf. KraussMaffei www.kraussmaffei.com KraussMaffei High Performance becomes NETSTAL again The Chinese plastics industry has undergone substantial further devel - opment over the last few years. Today, China is by far the largest processing mar - ket worldwide for all kinds of plastic materials. Most recently, the dynamism of its business activities has accelerated even more, so that they promise further growth for the coming years as well. With its plant in Kunshan, the WITTMANN Group has already been operating a highly developed production site in China for many years, where numerous products from its entire portfolio are manufactured for the lo - cal market – in particular robots, temperature con - trollers, materials handling equipment, compact dryers and granulators. Wi t h i n Ch i na , rap i d growth is manifesting itself especially in the country’s southern regions. With the foundation of WITTMANN BATTENFELD (Dongguan) Co. Ltd., its third facility in China so far, theWITTMANNGroup is planning to strengthen the existing sales and service activities in Southern China even further. In addition to numerous local sales offices scattered all over China, the WITTMANN Group has al - ready had a central office for the southern part of China in Shenzhen (Guangdong Province). This will now be replaced by a new 4-storey building located in a high- tech industrial park in Dong - guan. The new premises will have more than 824 m² of office space, plus facilities for training programs and an exhibition hall for dem - onstrating injection molding machines and various other products manufactured in- house. The construction of the subsidiary’s new facil - ity is progressing fast and expected to be completed by the end of this year. Especially in times of pan - demic with restrictions on travel, the importance of a strong local presence has been underscored in an impressive way. WITTMANN BATTENFELD www.wittmann-group.com The injection unit of the NETSTAL PET-LINE is a unique in-house-devel- opment. The extremely high throughputs of a preform system are only made possible in the first place thanks to the unique design. NETSTAL PET-line The WITTMANN Group opens a new sales and service center in Dongguan, China