Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
November 02, 2017 02:00 AM

Battenfeld-Cincinnati USA celebrates 'over-the-hill' anniversary

Audrey LaForest
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Battenfeld-Cincinnati USA
    A view of the production floor at Battenfeld-Cincinnati USA's facility in McPherson, Kan.

    When a company turns 40, it doesn't have to worry about the crow's feet, laugh lines or gray hairs that are the inevitable signs of aging or, rather, the physical evidence of a life well-lived. Although, unlike humans, who seem to care less about what others think of them as they get older, successful, aging companies generally want to be liked by others — especially their customers — because it can lead to better business.

    At Battenfeld-Cincinnati USA, an extrusion machinery maker nestled in the small town of McPherson, Kan., the company is celebrating 40 years of business in the United States. But with each passing year, the wheels of wisdom and innovation are still turning.

    President and CEO Paul Godwin, who has been with the company for 17 years and was appointed to his current role this past January, told me during an Oct. 31 phone interview that the 40th anniversary is "really a continuation of the beginning."

    "Every year that we move forward in this journey is another new beginning in a way," Godwin said. "Even though we've been doing it for a long time, we always have new challenges each and every day, so it's a continuation of development."

    Battenfeld-Cincinatti USA

    *Beep beep* Paging the past! This American Maplan Corp. TS-88 extruder is from 1999.

    Ch-ch-changes

    Rewind 40 years to 1977, and the extruder manufacturer was going by the name American Maplan Corp. Still located at the McPherson facility, the company, which was founded by a group of European investors and Austrian engineers, made extrusion lines and twin-screw geometries for pipe, profile and siding.

    In 1995, the former Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik GmbH in Germany purchased American Maplan for an undisclosed amount. Fifteen years later, Battenfeld merged with Vienna-based Cincinnati Extrusion GmbH, forming Battenfeld-Cincinnati. The parent company has more than 700 employees worldwide with production facilities in Germany, Austria, China and the U.S.

    Time may have changed the company's name and ownership, but today Battenfeld-Cincinnati USA is still making extruders for pipe and profile manufacturers as well as thermoforming sheet extrusion lines for the packaging industry and pelletizing lines.

    Getting older means getting wiser

    In keeping up with these digital, internet-driven times, Godwin said the company has an active program for Industry 4.0.

    "We've tried to make sure that we have a controls architecture that will allow that continual growth along the understanding of Industry 4.0, and that's what we're doing since there is no true definition," he explained.

    All of Battenfeld-Cincinnati's extrusion machinery is equipped with the company's latest BCtouch UX control system. The system has an intuitive menu that the company said "supports efficient planning and preventative maintenance, and fulfills future requirements for connectivity with servers and mobile appliances."

    Godwin said in terms of connectability and "smart logic," the company is focusing its efforts on applying more logic to mechanical components, so that the equipment can eventually be part of the decision-making process.

    "I've watched the company change over all these years. Some growth, some retraction, some changes in leadership, some changes in personnel," he said.

    "I see our group maintaining their leadership from a technology standpoint for many, many years. It's a major focus for our company, and we try to make sure that we're continuously pushing the envelope of what we can do."

    Putting aside the aches and pains of aging, sometimes getting older just means getting wiser — well, if you're a company, that is.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    3D printing is strange to me, but getting familiar to manufacturers
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Industry sees Biden bioplastics goal as serious signal
    2
    Biden sets US goal to replace 90% of plastics with biomaterials
    3
    Material Insights: Challenges for Biden bioplastics goal
    4
    Official says Norfolk Southern fire likely started in rail car containing resin
    5
    Trinseo: Equipment failure blamed for latex emulsion leak
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified