K-News_2_2012_Automotive - Kautex Maschinenbau

Automotive & Specialities
Made to move your business
Edition 2 | 2012
Trends, Technologies and Facts
Investing in innovation
US manufacturer Agri Industrial
Plastics (AIP) really sets the pace
when it comes to corporate vision.
Kautex Maschinenbau has been the
company’s strategic partner since
opening its doors almost 35 years
ago.
“Flexibility” is the key word when
describing the reasons for AIP’s success.
Since its foundation in 1978 in Fairfield,
Iowa, the company has consistently
worked to expand its customer base
– which could hardly be more diverse.
Whether it is fuel tanks, soundproof
screens or shelf systems, AIP supplies
customised solutions to meet every
requirement and works closely with
the customer from the initial design
idea right through to the finished
product. But this is not the only reason
why customers remain so loyal to the
company. AIP is also the watchword for
excellent quality, fast reaction times
and on-time delivery.
Over the years, the company has grown
from a tiny four-man operation to one
of North America’s leading manufacturers
of extrusion blow molded components.
It has relied on the expertise of
Kautex right from the start and it con-
tinues to invest in technical innovation.
Mick Stielow, AIP’s Director of Sales and
Marketing, comments: “Cutting-edge
technology is essential if you want to
survive in this business. As the world’s
leading supplier of extrusion blow
molding machinery, Kautex helps us to
be constantly pushing the boundaries
in terms of flexibility, efficiency and
quality.”
21 Kautex machines are currently operating
at AIP. The trend is increasingly
moving towards multi-layered production
processes. “Single-layer tanks have
largely become obsolete, particularly
for biofuels. It is now essential to have
additional barrier layers in order to
meet emission standards”, says Geoff
Ward, Engineering Manager at AIP. At
the same time, the company is countering
growing price pressures by increasing
automation levels in its production
area and by reducing run times.
ATV tank
Kautex Maschinenbau remains the
supplier of choice in this area. “For
us, Kautex is much more than just a
supplier of high-quality manufacturing
solutions”, says Mick Stielow. “Instead,
we think of the company as our
strategic partner and we believe it has
played a major part in AIP’s success.”

Editorial
You find us in
hall 14 booth A18 / A16
Andreas Lichtenauer
Dear business partners
and friends,
The global business world is becoming
increasingly turbulent and complex.
Whether it’s a crisis or double-digit
growth – today, both are possible, and
now they even occur simultaneously.
Whilst we in Europe are trying to cope
with the financial crisis in the eurozone,
the markets in Asia, South America
and China are booming. But watch out
– everything could change again in just
a few months and growth could head
off in a different direction.
If we are to be ready to face these challenges,
we need more flexible business
processes that can be quickly and continuously
adapted to suit the changing
markets. Even the most up-to-date
forecasts of trends and business cycles
are of little help in the present situation.
Ask ten experts and you‘ll get ten
different answers. And prophecies have
a tendency to be self-fulfilling, because
worry about a crisis slows down the
processes of growth. If we expect the
worst, we tend to get it.
Here at Kautex, we have been making
our own forecasts for many years now.
These are primarily based on direct
contact and intensive discussions with
our customers. We believe this provides
us with the best possible market evaluations,
because they are meaningful,
up-to-the-minute and always provide
additional valuable information. Direct
contact with our customers is therefore
the central element in our corporate
strategic planning. With every customer
contact, we learn more about the
needs and expectations of our business
partners, so that we can adapt and optimise
our products, service offers and
internal processes accordingly.
And our company‘s results show that
we are on the right track with this
systematic customer-oriented strategy.
Kautex is continuing to grow and drive
forward. We are particularly pleased
with the success of the Consumer
Packaging division. Over the last two
years we have held detailed discussions
and continued to improve our range.
The two recent orders from Iraq and
China are a nice reward for the hard
work done by the Consumer Packaging
team set up last year under Stefan
Walbroel. Our new Technical Centre
is also already proving to be a great
success. More than ever before, we
are working with customers and raw
materials producers on a range of new
developments that could soon lead to
further projects and new orders.
These are all very positive developments,
and we can look forward to the
future with optimism. We will most certainly
be doing this, as we know that if
we think positively, positive things will
happen.
Andreas Lichtenauer
2
www.made-to-move-your-business.de

Bigger and better - the new Kautex plant
in China.
Since 1994, the Kautex plant in the
southern Chinese province of Guangdong
has been manufacturing KCC
machines and supplying them to customers
around the globe. But now the
factory is bursting at the seams because
of the increase in demand for these
machines and the growing need for
additional manufacturing equipment.
So for some time now the management
of the plant have been looking for an
alternative location. Now a new factory
has been built just a few minutes‘ drive
from the old site. Light, airy and very
functional, it provides plenty of space
for Production, Development, Service,
Sales and Customer.
Limitations of the old site
„In many respects, our old factory
no longer satisfied our needs, and
its appearance failed to reflect the
quality of our products,“ says Mark
Lueddecke, Vice President of Shunde
Kautex Plastics Technology. The limited
production space only provided room
for 10 machines, and production was
also affected by the low ceilings. It was
impossible for trucks to drive onto the
production floor for loading.
Room to grow
The new factory means these problems
are a thing of the past. Now, more –
and, more importantly, bigger – machines
can be constructed, thanks to
the higher ceilings and higher crane
rails in the production area. „We
particularly need more space to meet
the heavy demand for multi-layer and
multi-cavity machinery. The plant has
been set up so that we can produce
40 to 50 machines a year“, says Mark
Lueddecke. Already this year, 27 machines
have been built and dispatched
to customers.
Like the Bonn factory, the new Chinese
production facility has been designed
to be very light and airy. This, along
with the new and much larger office
block, means that the 115 staff in
Shunde will be able to enjoy a great
improvement in their working conditions.
Bright and pleasant meeting
rooms of different sizes provide the
perfect place for welcoming customers,
and there is now more space for
holding training sessions. The Design
and Sales departments are housed on
the ground floor of the new building,
so that they are located as near as
possible to Production. Mark Lueddecke
believes the new facility provides
the perfect conditions for achieving
the company’s growth targets for the
coming year.
The official opening ceremony will be
held around Chinese New Year.
Contact:
mark.lueddecke@kautex-group.com
The new premises of Shunde Kautex Plastics Technology
www.made-to-move-your-business.de 3

Kautex and the industry‘s ABC
This year, the Annual Blow Molding
Conference (ABC) was held in
Pittsburgh. Kautex was well-represented
with an information stand
and four conference speakers. But
that‘s not all. The Chairman of the
conference organisers, SPE, is also
a Kautex man.
Any events organised by the Society of
Plastic Engineers (SPE) in the USA are
always well attended, and with good
reason, as they are an absolute must
for industry experts. This year was no
exception, with more than 300 trade
visitors coming to Pittsburgh for the
opportunity to talk to industry experts
and enjoy some lively discussions. Of
course, ABC is also one of the most
important events in the US market for
Kautex-Maschinenbau. This has particularly
been the case since Ben Lopez,
Chairman of the event‘s hosts, SPE, moved
from Bekum to Kautex in Bonn in
2011. „It’s an honour for any company
to have someone in their ranks who is
head of such a respected organisation“,
says Andreas Lichtenauer, Managing
Director and Partner of Kautex Maschinenbau.
Under this year‘s motto,“The Three Rivers
of Success – Innovation, Efficiency
and Sustainability“, the two-day conference
once again offered a wide range
of interesting talks. These included
four presentations by colleagues from
Kautex in Germany and the USA. Chuck
Flammer, Vice President Sales of Kautex
Inc., New Jersey, gave a presentation
on various aspects of flat panel manufacture.
The following day, Regional
Managers Sean Stephan and George
Hurden gave talks on compound materials
processing, control engineering
and cost management. And finally, Dieter
Rothe from the Bonn headquarters
turned the spotlight onto the hot topic
of „colour changes“.
Every year, one of the highlights of the
ABC conference is the presentation of a
lifetime achievement award to an outstanding
industry expert in recognition
of their work. This year, Chairman Ben
Lopez paid tribute to Donald Graham,
Ben Lopez with awardee Don Graham
founder of the Graham Group, which
has made many successful investments
in the blow-molding industry. By the
end of the two days, the conference‘s
organisers and visitors were unanimous
– they would be seeing each other
again at ABC 2013.
Get together with added
value
First plastics seminar in Cairo
What is the current state of blow molding
technology? What are the main
challenges for the future? Where can
I find solutions to all my application
problems? In May this year, the first
Kautex plastics seminar in Cairo provided
the answers to these and many
other questions.
More than 40 seminar participants
came together in the exclusive surroundings
of the Fairmont Hotel in the
Egyptian capital. They included chief
executives and company owners, plant
managers and young engineers from
15 different firms. They were there to
learn new information, but above all
they were keen to use the opportunity
to exchange ideas and talk to the Kautex
experts who were in attendance.
Moustafa Kamal, Kautex‘s sole agent in
Cairo, was actively supported by Engin
Evcimen and Michael Niesser from Kautex
Bonn, as well as by Du Guoliang,
President of Shunde Kautex Plastics
Technology.
At the end of a very informative day,
Kautex-expert Du Guoliang answering questions
the organisers and visitors were all in
agreement: every problem has a solution
- we just have to talk about it.
Contact:
engin.evcimen@kautex-group.com
4 www.made-to-move-your-business.de

Higher performance, lower costs
US fuel tank manufacturers Vitec
have restored their competitiveness
thanks to extensive automation
of their production line.
For years now, the automotive industry
has been struggling to cope with
relentless cost pressures. And it is
suppliers that have suffered the most,
as purchased parts are the biggest cost
factor for vehicle manufacturers. Vitec,
one of the USA‘s leading producers of
plastic fuel tanks, has been no exception.
Price pressures meant that the
Detroit-based company had to urgently
find ways of reducing its production
costs. Ideally, it wanted to ensure that
any changes to the production process
would integrate the very latest
technology. So it turned to Kautex for
help. The solution was an automation
concept that is unrivalled in its consistency.
„The Vitec production line has been
Material usage
14,82
4,81
10,01
13,00
3,74
9,26
12,28
3,25
9,03
Cycle time
Seconds
166
Phase I
84
145
Phase II
72,5
Reduction of cycle time for single and double station machine
automated from A to Z“, explains René
Vanmarcke, Project Manager at Kautex.
„This begins with feeding in the rings
and deflashing, through to separating
the products from the waste and finally
transferring the product to the cooling
and welding machines.“ At the same
time, the process data for each stage is
recorded in a central database, along
with details of any process modifications
and reports. Quality control of
the most critical process parameters
ensures that only good parts move on
to the next stage in production. The
separation of sub-standard parts is also
fully-automated.
This major investment has really paid
off for Vitec. „Generally-speaking, the
focus is always on investment costs“,
says Ryan Beebe, Product Engineering
Manager at Vitec. „But if we are be
competitive, the cost per part is critical
– so the cost of each part including raw
96
Phase III
48
Single
Double
materials and, above all, operating
costs.“
In this respect, Vitec is now ahead of
most of its competitors. The automation
solution from Kautex means that
the Vitec production line is now at the
cutting edge in terms of technology.
Reduced running costs have been
accompanied by a sharp increase in
productivity. At the same time, Vitec‘s
customers are assured of quality products
at attractive prices. So it‘s hardly
surprising that the Detroit company is
once again feeling optimistic about its
future.
Contact:
thilo.schmidt@kautex-group.com
rene.vanmarcke@kautex-group.com
Total Flash
Tank Weight
Kg
Shot Weight
Phase I
Phase II Phase III
Significant reduction of material usage
www.made-to-move-your-business.de 5

Blowfilling technology saves materials
and weight
Blow molding applications have to meet a wide range of requirements. Significant weight reduction, improved stability
and savings on materials can all be achieved with blowfilling technology and Kautex Maschinenbau.
Cross section of a bumper (blowfilling technology)
In the blowfilling process, either parts
of or the complete blow molded pieces
are filled with recycleable mini beads
made of foamed plastic and then
bonded using steam. This significantly
reduces material usage and the weight
of the component.
More stability thanks to thousands of
cell walls
At the start of the production process,
a blown container is formed using blow
molding technology. The compressed
plastic beads are fed into the container
under pressure and then fused
together by steam. The end result is a
compact structure that is the equal of
any other sandwich molding process.
Improved sound and heat insulation
Flat parts such as car door liners and
even shower walls, tractor roofs, auto
body parts such as under-body-shields
and bumpers are easy to produce
from a single material using blowfilling
technology. It also improves the
sound and heat insulating properties
of the components, along with their
flow resistance. In practice, this type of
blow molding technology is particularly
popular in Japan.
Contact:
juergen.moitzheim@kautex-group.com
Lightweight and versatile: vessels from
composite materials
The energy industry is increasingly
turning to composite pressure
vessels. Kautex Maschinenbau
supplies its customers with turnkey
plant solutions for the production
of these versatile containers.
The demand for storage and transportation
solutions for alternative energy
sources is on the up-and-up. In the
past, composite pressure vessels were
mainly used to hold liquid gas (LPG) or
natural gas (CNG). But now bottles and
cylinders made of composite materials
are increasingly being used for other
applications.
Flexible and lightweight
The energy sector has long been aware
of the outstanding features of composite
materials. For example, corrosionfree
composite pressure vessels can
provide significant weight savings. The
combination of composite material and
a blow molded inner liner is becoming
increasingly popular, including for nongas
applications such as oxygen bottles,
fire extinguishers and high-pressure
water filters. Many manufacturers
are turning to the experts at Kautex
Maschinenbau for help on adapting to
today‘s changing markets.
High pressure water filter from Shanghai Canature
Environmental Products
Broad range of applications, comprehensive
service offer
Depending on quantities and sizes,
Kautex blow molding machines from
the KBS, KLS or KCC series are used in
the production of type 4 composite
pressure vessels. They can be used for
everything from 5-litre LPG bottles to
160-litre tanks. Kautex works closely
with its customers to find solutions to
issues such as permeation or valve connections.
But the company supplies
much more than blow molding machines
for the production of inner liners. It can
also handle other purchases, testing and
technical certifications for the necessary
peripheral equipment. In this way, the
customer is supplied with a turnkey
production plant.
Contact:
siegfried.eckert@kautex-group.com
6 www.made-to-move-your-business.de

Virtual blow molding machine speeds up
processes
A virtual blow molding machine
means that Kautex machines can
now be commissioned quickly
and operators/service personnel
be trained efficiently under real
conditions.
A great deal of time and money is
normally wasted when commissioning
plastics machinery. The control parameters
have to be set and staff have
to be trained. Now a virtual machine
will help companies to commission
new machinery much more quickly and
reliably. As part of the SIMBLAS project,
a virtual machine will be created, even
before the real one has been built. The
virtual machine can be run by using the
real machine program.
Parallel development of machine and
controls
Dr. Olaf Bruch of the Dr. Reinold Hagen
Stiftung, along with Prof. Johannes
Geilen, Achim Trübner from the Bonn-
Rhein-Sieg University, Christoph Voigt
and other experts at Kautex Maschinenbau
have been working on this
new technology for 3 years. This virtual
commissioning technology (VIBN)
means that control components can be
designed and tested on the real control
system while the machine is still under
construction. This prevents machine
components being damaged by faulty
processes during testing of the control
software. It also saves money on
materials and machine operation. The
only tests that then need to be carried
out during the real commissioning
are to ensure that sensors and actuators
are correctly wired, so planning
can be much more precise. Advance
simulations mean that modifications
to the machinery or changes to the
control program can be made while the
machine is operating, without the need
for technicians to be brought in or for
production downtime.
Training under real-life conditions
With the help of Kautex Training
Manager Eberhard Seipel, the virtual
machine has been enhanced so that
training can also be provided for customer
personnel. A realistic representation
of the mechanical elements in question
has been created for this purpose.
The real control panel has also been
linked in to the virtual machine. Thanks
to these enhancements, customer
personnel can now be trained under
real-life conditions, without incurring
the high material and labour costs of
operating the blow molding machinery.
„Sectional views“ provide visualisations
of processes that are normally invisible,
such as processes within the closed
mold. This kind of training also avoids
any risk of the machinery being damaged.
Indeed, malfunctions can be built
in so that users and service personnel
can learn how to resolve them quickly
and effectively.
Contact:
eberhard.seipel@kautex-group.com
Virtual machine controlled via SIMBLAS
www.made-to-move-your-business.de 7

Current
Projects
2012
Kautex machines are continuing to benefit
from increasing demand. Alongside
steady growth in the Automotive
division, this year we can also be particularly
pleased with the new customers
in the Consumer Packaging division.
3 x KBS241 CoEx (shuttle)
6 Layer coextrusion shuttle blow
molding machine for the production
of plastic fuel tanks. Customer: YAPP
Automotive Parts Co. Ltd., Locations:
Foshan, Ningbo, Yangzhou, Country:
China
KBS241 CoEx (shuttle)
6 Layer coextrusion blow molding
machine for the production of plastic
fuel tanks. Customer: Jiangsu Suguang
Parts of Automobile Co., Country:
China
KBS61 (mono)
Monolayer extrusion blow molding
machine for the production of filter
housing with inserted flange. Customer:
Shanghai Canature, Country:
China
KBS241 CoEx (shuttle)
6 Layer coextrusion shuttle blow
molding machine for the production
of plastic fuel tanks. Customer: Yapp
Rus Automotive Systems Co., Ltd.. Ltd.
Country: Russia
K3D-HPD
7 Layer CoExtrusion double station
blow molding machine with horizontal
platform for the production of filler pipes.
Customer: YAPP Automotive Parts
Co. Ltd., Country: China
KBS120 (mono)
Monolayer extrusion blow molding
machine for the production of air
ducts. Country: Germany
KCC30S
Single station extrusion blow molding
machine for the production of
air ducts. Customer: AD PLASTIK d.d.,
Country: Croatia
KBS61 (mono)
Monolayer extrusion blow molding
machine for the production of filler pipes.
Customer: YAPP Automotive Parts
Co. Ltd., Country: China
New Kautex
sales office
opens in
Moscow
Kautex Maschinenbau expands its
customer service in Russia and the
neighboring regions.
Russia‘s automotive industry is booming.
Countless global automotive
suppliers have set up operations
around Saint Petersburg, and they rely
on the support of experienced partners
such as Kautex Maschinenbau. In
December 2011, the company expanded
its presence in Russia and opened
a sales office in Moscow. As a result, it
Imprint
Publisher
Kautex Maschinenbau GmbH
Kautexstraße 54 · 53229 Bonn · Germany
Telephone: +49 228 489-0 · Telefax: +49 228 489-414
info@kautex-group.com · www.kautex-group.com
Coordination
is better placed to service its customers
and keep its finger on the pulse of the
Russian market. There is high demand
for blow molding machinery for the
production of automotive body parts
and packaging for products such as motor
oil and car care products. But now
spare parts can also be supplied quickly
and with a minimum of red tape.
Alexander Silin, manager of the Russian
office, is a specialist in plastics engineering.
From the Moscow office, he and
two colleagues look after customers in
central Russia and the southern states,
along with certain key accounts. And
from his base in Togliatti, service technician
Sergey Charikov makes sure that
machinery customers in Russia receive
the excellent Kautex service. The team
is rounded off by Olga Bolotina, who
also has many years of experience in
the blow molding business. She mainly
looks after customers in Belarus and
the northern states from a branch
office in Saint Petersburg.
Contact:
hubert.moritz@kautex-group.com
Hubert Moritz, Alexander Silin, Ljubov Sinitsina, Christina Möllmann, Sergey Poljakov, Jürgen Moitzheim
(from left to right)
Communications and Marketing · Kautex Maschinenbau GmbH