KraussMaffei US subsidiary celebrates 50th anniversary

Since it was founded in 1966, the KraussMaffei Corporation has grown continuously and has established itself as a leading provider of machinery for plastics and rubber processing in the North American market. It currently represents the three brands: KraussMaffei, KraussMaffei Berstorff and Netstal. Following a very successful financial year in 2015, KraussMaffei Corporation expects further growth in 2016.

Paul Caprio, who has headed KraussMaffei Corporation since 2009 said: "We are very proud of what we have achieved and of our success since the company was founded in New York in 1966. With over 200 employees, we are providing support to our customers in all three technologies – injection molding, reaction process and extrusion technology."  The North American automotive sector is a particularly important growth engine. In lightweight design for example, customers of the brand KraussMaffei can benefit from solutions for manufacturing fiber-reinforced plastic components based on both thermoset and thermoplastic matrix systems.

The decision of many US companies not to relocate their production to low-wage countries has also accelerated growth. "We have always supported the strategy that goods for the US market should be produced within the US borders. In addition, we are supplying our customers with the best system solutions consisting of machine, mold and automation. They are telling us over and over that our production solutions are not only of high quality, but that they are also very efficient," Mr. Caprio said. This trend is also reflected in the current order situation of Krauss-Maffei Corporation – approximately 30 percent of the incoming orders come from US customers.

Mr. Caprio also sees a great demand in the Logistics/Packaging sector, particularly for industrial size packaging like pallets and large containers. "With our MX series, KraussMaffei has one of the fastest large machines on the market – with clamping forces of up to 55,000 kN. With its filling characteristics that feature a high reproducibility as well as its precise molding, the MX series provides ideal conditions – especially in the high performance sector," he said. The thin-wall packaging sector is also experiencing a very positive development. In this area, the company is well positioned with the system solutions of the Netstal brand. For example, the new Injection Compression Molding technology ensures faster cycle times, lower clamping forces and a material consumption that is reduced by up to 20 percent.

The construction industry and the bulk chemical sector are KraussMaffei Corporation's third pillar of growth. In these areas, extrusion technology system solutions are particularly in demand, especially for the production of roofing sheets, foamed insulation panels as well as pipes and profiles. In the field of compounding, the twin-screw extruders of KraussMaffei Berstorff's new, energy-efficient ZE Blue Power series have impressed many.