01/01/04
Tech Group Acquires Milacron's Two-Component All-electric Machine

The Tech Group pushes multicomponent molding to new level with acquisition of Milacron's first two-component all-electric machine.

With multicomponent molds spurting from zero to 20% of the company's tooling output in just two years, The Tech Group is zeroing in on new multicomponent business with a potent technology combination of servo-electric molds and molding machine. The company will soon take delivery of Ferromatik Milacron North America's first newly built two-component all-electric injection molding machine. The new 330-ton Powerline will use standard and stack multicomponent, servo-driven molds, built by The Tech Group, to provide an accurate, repeatable, hydraulics-free solution for producing complex medical and consumer parts.

"Rather than waiting for applications to come to us, which is what custom molders typically do, we're gathering the right technologies now to take our capabilities to a new level. We believe the combination of servo-driven molds and machine will give us an important technology edge," states Bill Gerard, vice president of engineering for The Tech Group.

The Tech Group has a close relationship with Milacron, having purchased 31 Roboshot all-electric molding machines over the last few years. "We've proven to ourselves that all-electric machines are inherently more energy efficient and more accurate in shot control, making them especially effective in producing medical parts," says Gerard. "Combine that with in-mold assembly, where you're processing two resins and controlling a precision interface of two components in one cycle, and were effectively doubling our savings, as well as accuracy and repeatability."

The Tech Group has been a leading proponent of multicomponent molding for years. The company has nine multicomponent machines in North America and eleven machines in Europe. Its multicomponent business has grown by 10% per year and was up significantly in 2003, according to Gerard. "We intend to push the multicomponent technology envelope in the U.S. with in-mold assembly and decorating," says Gerard. "We believe all-electric molding will be an even more valuable asset in multicomponent molding than it is in traditional single-shot molding."

"The Tech Group is unique in this approach to the business," says Bob Strickley, vice president of sales for Milacron. "Few molders would invest in a machine like this to leapfrog the rest of the market and offer customers this kind of development platform. Few can internally supply the tooling for those operations. It is especially uncommon to find a molder building its own servo-powered multicomponent tools.