Arburg's Hehl brothers given German honor
LOSSBURG, GERMANY - Brothers Karl and Eugen Hehl, leaders of injection press maker Arburg GmbH + Co., were awarded the Order of the Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Their father, Arthur Hehl, founded Arburg in Lossburg in 1923. Originally, the company made medical instruments. The company shifted all production to injection presses in 1957.
Late last year, the Hehl brothers received the Order of the Cross from Erwin Teufel, prime minister of the state of Baden-Wrttemberg, in a ceremony held in Stuttgart.
It marked the first time the award went to two brothers, according to Arburg.
Teufel said: ``Karl and Eugen Hehl have rendered outstanding services to public welfare not only with their entrepreneurial activities but also with their engagements in the social field.'' For example, in Lossburg they helped finance a nursing home and supported youth groups, churches and local clubs.
Demag names LaBelle sales rep for South
STRONGSVILLE, OHIO - Strongsville-based Demag Ergotech USA has named LaBelle Industrial Sales Inc. of El Paso, Texas, as its sales representative in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and northern Mexico.
Members of LaBelle include plastics veterans Don Gruber, Ron Cirillo, Brian McGuirk and Robert Pena.
Demag Ergotech sells injection molding machines in clamping forces from 25-3,000 tons.
Davis-Standard boasts TecStar, Cosco sales
PAWCATUCK, CONN. - Davis-Standard Corp. is touting large blow molding machines sold to two major plastics processors: TecStar Manufacturing Group and Cosco Inc. Both companies do injection molding but wanted to add blow molding.
At TecStar's Illinois Division in Libertyville, Ill., a dual-head, 10-pound Sterling blow molding system went into production last December making double-wall storage cases. A major attraction for TecStar was Davis-Standard's parison control, allowing the company to run faster cycle times with less material. The machinery maker also provided a formal training program and helped with product trials.
Cosco, in Columbus, Ind., makes juvenile products. The company had outsourced all its blow molding business but decided to bring the work in-house by purchasing a Sterling Model SE630D, dual-head, 30-pound machine.
The machine is turning out parts for beds, including headboards, footboards and guardrails. Features include spiral diverter technology for improved head flow and quick color changes.
Cosco bought the machine in May 2000, and it was in production by September.
RJG adds 4 machines, launches Web site
TRAVERSE CITY, MICH. - RJG Inc. has added four injection molding machines to its training center in Traverse City - presses from Toshiba, Sumitomo, Milacron and Mitsubishi.
RJG also has launched a Web site, www.rjginc.com. New features include the ability to download manuals, technical documents and other information. A new guest-book function allows customers to share information with visitors to the site.
Paul Kiefel gets new name, targets China
WRENTHAM, MASS. - As of April, German blown film machinery maker Paul Kiefel Extrusionstechnik GmbH has changed its name to Kiefel Extrusion GmbH.
Marketing director Eberhard Wenger said the new name stresses the company's global orientation.
Under a reorganization, Kiefel Extrusion in January decentralized its sales, dividing sales activities into six regions around the world. One area sales director and staff handle direct contact with customers.
In a related development, Kiefel Extrusion announced it has started to target China. The company already is represented in Iran, India, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan and Malaysia.
Kiefel Extrusion's U.S. headquarters, Kiefel Inc., is in Wrentham.
Harbour Group firms reborn as ACS Group
WOOD DALE, ILL. - The auxiliary equipment makers AEC Inc., Sterling Inc. and Cumberland Engineering Corp. now have a new name: ACS Group.
All three companies are owned by Harbour Group Ltd., a St. Louis holding company.
ACS makes equipment sold under several brand names, including AEC, Whitlock, Sterlco, Sterltech, Hydreclaim, Application Automation, Nelmor, Ball & Jewell and Cumberland.
The new name was announced in April.
The ACS facilities are:
ACS-Wood Dale, which makes chillers, loaders, dryers and blenders.
ACS-Milwaukee, which makes temperature control equipment, traversing robots and sprue picker robots.
ACS-South Attleboro, Mass., which manufacturers size-reduction equipment, such as granulators, shredders and pelletizers.
The ACS Group headquarters staff is housed in Wood Dale.
A.S.S. Maschinenbau sets up U.S. branch
FARMINGTON HILLS, MICH. - The German maker of end-of-arm tooling for robots, A.S.S. Maschinenbau GmbH, has set up a U.S. operation in Farmington Hills called ATS Automation Technology Schwope Inc.
ATS offers 600 standard components and complete gripper assemblies.
Meanwhile the business relationship is now over between A.S.S. (which stands for Automation Systems Schwope) and Xenia, Ohio, end-of-arm tooling maker SAS Automation Ltd., according to both companies.
SAS used to be partly owned by the German company, but SAS owner Trent Fisher bought out the German company's shares in 1998. SAS continued to buy some components from A.S.S., but that agreement has now ended, Fisher said.
Meanwhile, SAS Automation touted its U.S.-made tooling in a recent press release. ``With our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and processes, we compete very well with foreign imports,'' said Jerry Moeggenberg, SAS general manager.
MCP Systems opens demonstration center
FARMINGTON HILLS, MICH. - MCP Systems of Fairfield, Conn., which makes automated vacuum casting equipment for rapid prototyping, opened a demonstration center in Farmington Hills earlier this year.
MCP said the Michigan facility will showcase its new metal parts casting machine that makes cast metal prototypes in aluminum and copper beryllium. Also on display: a vacuum casting machine that can produce large sample parts weighing as much as 24 pounds and measuring 61/2 feet long, such as car bumpers and fascias.
Briefly ...
The Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association, located in Glen Ellyn, Ill., joined with the Vinyl Institute, the Chlorine Chemistry Council and other industry organizations to donate products and help build 35 houses in Americus, Georgia, and five houses in Plains, Georgia, during the September build of Habitat for Humanity International.