POY 2011: Bemis Manufacturing Co.

Bemis Manufacturing is a finalist for the 2011 PN Processor of the Year. Bemis, in Sheboygan Falls, Wis., has earned a reputation as a pioneering technological leader especially in coinjection molding and its use of six-axis robots. And your head certainly does spin after a plant tour: On nearly all presses, a large, articulating-arm ABB robot removes parts from molds and does finishing operations such as degating, trimming and sanding. In many cases, that robot passes the part on to another six-axis robot for assembly right at the press, or part stacking. The company is known for large parts. Running a massive, 6,600-ton Milacron will generate that kind of attention: What is believed to be the world’s largest coinjection molding press turns out hoods for John Deere farm tractors and other big parts.