Geiss Thermoforming AG, the German manufacturer of thermoforming machines, and trimming and milling equipment, sold 11 pieces of machinery at K 2013, generating sales of more than 4 million euros ($5.5 million), said Michael Roche, general manager of the U.S. operation, Geiss LLC.
Most of the booth visitors were high-level executives with real, large-scale products, and money to spend, he said.
After the K show, Roche said U.S. officials of Geiss were pleasantly surprised by the potential clients from North America.
“Every single day, someone from North America came into our both, and for the most part, it was unexpected,” Roche said.
That means people got on a plane to fly to Düsseldorf, Germany, to see new thermoforming technology. For Geiss, that includes its closed-chamber thermoformer that eliminates the sagging of the sheet during heating. The company based in Sesslach, Germany, also makes forming machines for composites.
“Things seem to be on the uptick,” Roche said.
Roche said Geiss LLC, based in Durham, Conn., got more solid leads at the K show than all of the U.S. industry shows combined. That includes NPE and the Society of Plastics Engineers Thermoforming Conference, he said.