Krauss-Maffei Kunststofftechnik GmbH's RPM Division, which makes polyurethane processing equipment, continues to grow, as the company strengthens its position in North America and Italy, the company reported at NPE 2003.
Last year, the company bought the Elastrogran PU machinery business and also opened a subsidiary in Italy, a key center of the European appliance industry.
RPM Division officials are projecting a 35 percent increase in order income over fiscal 2003, which ends in September. North American business could grow by 50 percent.
At NPE 2003, Krauss-Maffei announced a new, lower-priced machine called the SP range and reintroduced a low-pressure machine.
At an NPE news conference June 24, officials discussed the clear-coat molding process for surface-coating moldings with polyurethane. CCM uses aliphatic PU, which does not fade and bonds well to wood, metal and textiles. It comes in rigid and flexible formulations.
Articles to be coated are inserted into the mold. When the mold is closed, there is a gap between the part and the mold wall.
In a single operation, the gap is filled at high pressure with a two-component polyurethane.
After a few minutes' worth of reaction time, the coated part can be removed from the mold.
Because the part-surface quality mirrors the smooth surface of the mold wall, the decor parts do not require any finishing, according to Krauss-Maffei of Munich, Germany.
A few weeks after NPE, Krauss-Maffei announced it sold five CCM systems to Novem Car Interior GmbH of Vorbach, Germany.
The coating lines will provide a surface coating on the real wood decor elements on Audi, BMW and DaimlerChrysler cars.
Novem will install the coating lines at plants in Vorbach and Bergamo, Italy.