Reifenhäuser: The 'best ever' K

Düsseldorf, Germany — In 2013, Reifenhäuser's large Hall 17 stand at the K show in Düsseldorf was emblazoned with the words “The Extrusioneers.” This year, Reifenhäuser has gone with the most consistent trend of K 2016, the words “Industrie 4.0” overlooking the busy stand.

Reifenhäuser's new innovations include, in the blown film sector, the Ultra Cool cooling ring and the Evolution Ultra Flat film flattening unit, which is integrated into the haul-off to allow for efficient flattening while the film is still hot and in a semi-amorphous state and, in the sheet line sector, the REIcofeed 2.2 coextrusion feedblock for cast sheet coating, and the optimized polishing stack of the MIREX-MT-H model type.

Ulrich Reifenhäuser, managing director of Troisdorf, Germany-based Reifenhäuser and chairman of the K exhibitors' council, explained his view of Industry 4.0: “First of all, in my view, 4.0 is a philosophy. It's not a thing to be offered right now; it's a way of thinking about how to use data. Machines nowadays are highly complicated and we take lots of data. We measure, we control the machines, and we have statistics. We can document what the quality is. But these are more or less all single datas. So Industry 4.0 means how to bring this [data] together. How to find [the right] algorithms.”

In his view, Industry 4.0 will only really become a reality once we know exactly what it is we're looking for. In Douglas Adams' classic Sci-Fi novel “The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy,” it was revealed that a supercomputer was asked to find the ultimate answer. After much cogitation, its answer was the baffling “42.” Thus another supercomputer was built (the planet Earth) to find out what the ultimate question could be that “42” would be an adequate answer for. Having data is one thing. Knowing what it means to the whole process is another.

Reifenhäuser said: “How is quality being influenced by the temperature, by the pressure, by the things that happen within the machine? And then how do we understand how can this be done? How is this influenced? If we know how this is influenced, then we might control the machine. But at the end would mean we could have an intelligent machine that is self-controlling, that does a perfect job just by the IT intelligence in the machine.”

We are at the early stages of 4.0.

“It will take another — not three, not six — it will take nine years, 12 years to really have the thing we are dreaming of today,” Reifenhäuser said.

But he is clear that it is a path to a concrete reality and more than just a vision.

“It's not just a plan; it's a must,” Reifenhäuser said. He sees it being all about customer value, “if they're willing to pay, then we made the right decision, this is the proof.”

Moving from his company and onto K 2016 itself, Reifenhäuser was keen to emphasize the increase in visitor numbers. Based on the first five days, K 2016 visitor numbers were up nearly 6 percent compared to K 2013. But it's not just the numbers, he says: “Beside these pure numbers, I can tell you here, from my stand, it's exciting. It's moving. It's dynamic.”

He said he had signed contracts on the stand: “I have never [before] experienced, in the first two-and-a-half days [of K] to have signed so many orders. And honestly speaking, I don't like to sign orders. I'm serious. Because this is hectic.”

His parting message was a wager: “This K show will be the best K show ever. I would bet. If you want to bet, I would bet.”