Germany's W. Muller opens office in U.S.
WEST SPRINGFIELD, MASS. — W. Muller KG, a German manufacturer of heads for continuous extrusion blow molding machines, has opened a U.S. office in West Springfield to handle sales, technical service and spare parts.
Muller makes a range of extrusion heads, from single-layer to six-layer heads for most blow molding resins.
W. Muller KG always has been a separate, independent firm from W. Muller GmbH, said a company spokeswoman.
Battenfeld Fischer Blasformtechnik GmbH bought W. Muller GmbH, which made long-stroke blow molding machines, from Muller. Later, in 1996, Krupp
Kunststofftechnik GmbH bought Battenfeld Fischer.
The U.S. extrusion-head supplier is called W. Muller KG-USA LP, and is in West Springfield.
Moog forms venture with Hydrolux sarl
EAST AURORA, N.Y. — Moog Inc. of East Aurora, a maker of closed-loop controls for plastics equipment, has formed a joint venture with Luxembourg's Hydrolux sarl to make hydraulic manifolds.
The companies showed the manifold at NPE 1997. The joint venture is called Moog-Hydrolux Hydraulic Systems LLC.
The manifolds drive hydraulic fluid to power injection molding machines, blow molding machines and other types of equipment.
The manifolds include high-precision valve components, including cartridges and valves.
Moog-Hydrolux uses a multiple-pallet computer numerically controlled machining center, capable of holding 120 tools. If the cycle times permit, the CNC machines can run ``lights out'' with no operator, according to the company.
New auxiliary firm planning for full line
GENEVA, ILL .— A new company, Auxiliary Plastic Equipment Inc., has started producing granulators, with plans to become a full-line auxiliary machinery maker in about two years.
APE began production in March, in Geneva. Its first product line is the CAS series of beside-the-press granulators, in two sizes of cutting chambers: 7 by 8 inches and 10 by 17 inches.
APE President Marshall Harmon founded Thermal-Tech Systems Inc. in Geneva, a Midwest distributor of mold-release agents, heater and temperature controls.
Thermal-Tech employs eight. APE has two employees.
Husky adds service to assist customers
BOLTON, ONTARIO — Bolton-based injection press builder Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. expanded its quality assurance testing laboratory to include detailed material characterization services for any resin.
The new equipment Husky has added includes a differential scanning calorimeter, a thermogravimetric analyzer, an FT-IR spectrometer, a dynamic mechanical analyzer and a capillary rheometer.
Healy rejoins Conair to head new program
EMSWORTH, PA. — Conair Group announced that Jim Healy has returned to the company to head a new national accounts program that will give customers a centralized contact point for all Conair auxiliary equipment products.
Healy was Conair's Midwest regional sales manager from 1989-92. He then served as vice president of sales for robots and granulators with the former Conair Martin division until 1996, when he left Conair to become Midwest regional sales manager for robot maker CBW Automation of Fort Collins, Colo.
Dick Christopher, Conair's vice president of sales, said customers told the auxiliary maker they wanted to deal with a single, integrated organization.
Earlier this year, Conair announced plans to merge all its domestic operations into two facilities in western Pennsylvania. Conair is expanding its factory in Franklin, Pa., by 60 percent. In August, administrative, engineering and sales personnel started moving into a new, 70,000-square-foot technical center and headquarters complex in Emsworth, near Pittsburgh.
