SKS and Engel mark 25 years of partnership

SKS and Engel Holding are celebrating their 25 years of collaborative work this year. A close partnership has developed between the two family-owned businesses since Engel delivered its first injection-molding machine to SKS in Laupen, Switzerland more than two decades ago. 

Dr Peter Neumann, CEO of ENGEL Holding (rightmost), thanked Karl and Michael Steiner  (second and third from right) of the family-owned SKS specialty components company

SKS, which specializes in high-precision small components made of sophisticated high-performance materials, offers comprehensive packages that cover product design and development to mold fabrication and series manufacturing, including assembly and logistics. It provides gears and other technically demanding precision injection-molded parts to customers around the world. The clients list comprises both large international companies and small and medium-sized businesses, many of which have been working with SKS for several decades now.

SKS founder and managing director Karl Steiner said the company underscores products that require very specific know-how and therefore cannot be produced by just anyone. The average age of its machines is relatively low, and three new Engel machines will be taken in operation within this year. 

SKS is one of the first customers in Switzerland that adopted Engel’s tie-bar-less machines 25 years ago. The e-motion 30 TL is the second machine from the new all-electric and tie-bar-less small-scale model series from Engel. 

Ideal for small but complex precision components, its tie-bar-less design helps in keeping the hourly rate stable when the shot weights are small and the molds are bulky due to the sliders, according to Mr. Steiner. Because these machines allow for the platen surface to be used up to the edge or even beyond, they support mounting of even larger molds than machines with the same clamping force but with tie bars. This helps lower investment and running costs, and reduce floor space requirements. 

In addition to the large mold area, Mr. Steiner noted the high precision of the machines and the flexibility for automation.

He added, "Over the many years of our cooperation, we have always been provided with excellent support from Engel. It is above all the close contact that is important for us when it comes to support. The prompt responses demonstrate again and again that Engel is truly very close to its customers.