SCHWERTBERG, AUSTRIA (June 20, 1:25 p.m. EDT) — Engel Austria GmbH, which has been the exclusive supplier of injection presses for SIG Corpoplast's Premax PET injection molding systems, now is taking over that business from SIG on July 1.
Engel has changed the name from Premax to MacPET. The press is based on the Engel Classic series of five-point toggle-clamp presses. A hydraulic accumulator provides fast mold opening and closing.
The technology can mold as many as 43,200 PET preforms per hour.
SIG (Booth S1615) and Engel (Booth S1676) announced the deal before NPE 2003. Financial terms were not disclosed. Engel will be responsible for all new business as well as service and support for installed Premax machines already sold by SIG Corpoplast GmbH & Co. KG of Hamburg, Germany. Engel will continue to source PET molds from two preferred suppliers: SIG Moldtec GmbH & Co. KG in Essen, Germany, and MHT Mold & Hotrunner Technology AG of Hochheim, Germany.
In addition, Engel will cooperate with SIG Moldtec on maintenance and warranty work for Premax and Pet-O-Mat preform injection molding systems supplied by SIG Corpoplast.
The MacPET series comes in five sizes, with clamping forces of 275-550 tons. The system uses molds with 32, 48, 64, 72 or 96 cavities.
Engel said more than 100 of the PET preform presses have been sold to companies in 20 countries.
SIG and Engel have been working together more than 10 years. Schwertberg-based Engel said it has been making PET preform injection presses and takeout robots under its own brand name since mid-2002.