Krones closes the plastics loop

At the end of January, Krones attracted huge attention in the trade and business press with the announcement of its plan to acquire Netstal. That is because the Swiss company is regarded as one of the leading suppliers of injection moulding machinery for the beverage market and for medical applications and thin-walled packaging made of plastic.

But do you know exactly what lies behind the term injection moulding? In the following article, you will get a brief introduction to the subject – and learn why the acquisition plays an important role for Krones, in two respects.

What is injection moulding?

In simple terms, the injection moulding process is where granules, made from plastic, for instance, are heated to 200 to 300 degrees Celsius, which liquefies them. In the next step this mass is injected under pressure into what is known as the injection mould. Since the mould, at about 20 to 120 degrees Celsius, is significantly colder than the mass injected into it, the molten material cools down inside it and hardens. Because of the heat lost as it cools down, however, the mass shrinks. This shrinkage is compensated by squeezing in more material. On completion of the injection moulding process, the mould is opened and the manufactured product either falls into a collecting container as bulk material or is removed by handling tools.

Not only are preforms manufactured in this way, but so too are caps, plastic containers for margarine and yoghurt, for instance, as well as Petri dishes and pipette tips for medical applications.

*Preforms, for example, can be manufactured with Netstal’s injection moulding machines.*

One technology, many names

Even in technical jargon there are sometimes different names for one and the same thing. The best example is “die casting” and “injection moulding”. Both terms describe the same technology.

For consistency, we at Krones have agreed on “injection moulding”, so we talk, for example, of injection moulding machines, injection moulding parts or injection moulding technology.

Injection moulding or injection molding, that is the question

There is a little difference when it comes to spelling: On the internet you will sometimes see “moulding” spelt without a “u” after the “o”. Which is correct? The answer: both. It all depends on which country you are in. In British English, the word is spelt with a “u” after the “o”, but in America there is no “u”. They spell the word as it is spoken. As British English has been defined as the corporate language for our Group, we use the spelling with “u”.

Krones diversifies – in many ways

Netstal’s customers do not just include food and beverage producers. The company’s solutions are also widely used in the pharmaceutical industry.

Pharma and home and personal care in focus

That was one of the reasons behind the acquisition, because Krones is looking to grow in the medical and pharmaceutical market as well as in the home and personal care (HPC) sector over the next few years. With its injection moulding technology for medical applications and thin-walled packaging, Netstal will help it deliver on this strategy.

Closing the plastics loop

There is also another reason for the purchase: Netstal has a key element that complements the Krones portfolio in plastics technology.

A company rich of tradition

The name Netstal goes back to the municipality of the same name in the Swiss canton of Glarus. It was there, in 1857, that Ulrich Rietmann founded „Maschinenfabrik, Eisen- & Messinggiesserei Ulrich Rietmann & Cie“, which was renamed „Maschinenfabrik und Gießerei Netstal AG“ in 1922. Since 1976 the company has been called “Netstal Maschinenfabrik AG”, or “Netstal” for short.

#PET #rPET #SustainableProduction

Peter Mörtl

04. April 2024

2:45 min.

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