Hermann Berstorff Maschinenbau GmbH (PO Box 610360, D-30603 Hannover), a company known for the building of extruders, has changed its name, quite simply, to Berstorff GmbH. According to Managing Director Manfred Reichel, speaking at a press conference ahead of "K '98", the company wants to make the company's name better known at an international level. Reichel's most important message, however, was that, despite all the pessimism, "Berstorff is in the black", and the company was proud of this. German plastics machinery builders were currently enjoying a real boom, which was also providing Berstorff with full order books. Based on the first half of 1998, the company is expecting sales for the year to reach DEM 212m, with incoming orders of DEM 226m. In 1997, the value of incoming orders rose by 34 % to DEM 233 (183)m. Sales fell to DEM 197 (203)m, due mainly to the invoicing of a large-scale project of DEM 28m in Autumn 1996. The growth, he said, was coming from foreign orders, with domestic demand still leaving something to be desired. The biggest markets are still Europe and North America, while Berstorff was not happy with its Asian business.

After "a great deal of confusion", the ownership conditions were now clear again, said Reichel. Berstorff is now a fully owned subsidiary of Mannesmann Plastics Machinery AG (MPM, Reinhard-von-Frank Str. 16, D-80997 Munich). Within the MPM organisation, Berstorff was not competing with any other company. Whereas Krauss-Maffei Extrusionstechnik was regarded in the industry as a specialist for pipe and profile extrusion, Berstorff's process engineering know-how lay clearly with rubber extrusion, processing technology, compounding machines, film production and foam extrusion.

The planned "integration" of Compex GmbH (Hauptstr. 1, D-53426 Schalkenbach) into Berstorff is intended to broaden the technology and process portfolio. Krauss-Maffei Kunststofftechnik GmbH (D-80997 Munich) took a 75% interest in Compex, which specialises in co-rotating twin-screw extruders, in 1995. The marketing activities of both Berstorff and Compex have already been merged under the Berstorff umbrella, and both the Hanover and Schalkenbach production sites will be retained.

READER SERVICE: Press conference statements with further details on strategy and new machines (Germany): PIE-No. 43058.