After a long period of stagnation, the US automotive industry is finally revving its engines again, which is why Milacron is gearing up to meet expected demand.
Milacron’s Maxima and Maxima G Series large tonnage, servo, multi-component line up of machines are becoming a top choice in injection moulding machines for the automotive industry when producing multicolour automotive lenses or large automotive parts.
Milacron
The Milacron automotive team recently completed the sale of a multi machine order, including Maxima Series 3 and 4 Component machines for complex automotive components. These customised machines represent a strong collaboration with the customer, resulting in a highly engineered system solution utilising Milacron’s deep understanding of the market and global engineering resources. The automotive moulding market has long been a strong end market for Milacron and the sale of these multi-component machines represents another in-road for Milacron’s Maxima Series and continued innovation for the industry.
Ron Krisanda, Chief Operating Officer of Advanced Plastic Processing Technologies at Milacron, said: "The excitement and response we’ve seen from our key customers in the automotive market in connection with our lineup of the Maxima Series machines has been impressive.
"Key customers are buying fleets of machines for their production lines and looking to Milacron to develop and integrate these systems."
With a significant number of Maxima Series sales in the first half of 2015, and Milacron Service teams so readily available across the country, customers are also making use of Milacron’s service technicians to handle onsite installations of electricity, water, air, and Milacron chillers, conveyer systems and robots.
Embracing the One Milacron mantra, for this unique opportunity, the Maxima Series clamps are manufactured in Milacron’s Afton, Ohio plant, along with the complete system assembly. The parallel injection units on the Maxima multi-component systems are designed, engineered and manufactured in the Malterdingen, Germany plant. To further complement the machines, Mold-Masters iM2 integrated hot runner temperature controllers are often installed.
Milacron Injection Vice-President and General Manager Shawn Reilley explained: "By utilising the strengths of our manufacturing facilities globally, we can offer customers high-performance design with best in class lead times.
"With Milacron’s Ohio manufacturing facilities, conveniently located in the heart of the US auto industry, Milacron is able to provide lead times and delivery schedules that are unmatched by the competition. At times, Milacron is topping competitions’ delivery dates by up to eight weeks. This global advantage has resonated with our customers."
Milacron’s industry-leading injection units are available in standard configurations or fully customisable to allow customers the flexibility to have the injection unit designed to allow for multi-colour and multi-component moulding applications, such as three-four component automotive lens moulding or other complex applications. Milacron worked with the customer to custom design the machine, the work cell - including supplying and integrating all of the auxiliary equipment, and assisting in the layout of the facility.
When working with clients, Milacron always views the relationship as collaborative and ongoing throughout the lifecycle of the system.
"Our industry leading aftermarket service ensures our customers are taken care of for the life of their system. Our work doesn’t end when the customer takes delivery of their machine, that’s where we add value. Whether its parts, service, retrofits or upgrades, we stand behind our machines," said Krisanda.
The Maxima Series offers reliability, precision, versatility and user-friendliness. It is one of Milacron’s most energy-efficient machines providing up to 60 per cent energy savings over similar machines. The high-value injection-moulding machine combines the advantage of a precise and accurate 2-platen, center tonnage mechanism with advanced user-friendly controls. The Maxima, which is available in tonnages from 310 - 950, and the Maxima G Series, with tonnages from 1100 to 6600, are ideal for a number of possible moulding applications.