Europe’s plastics machinery manufacturing industry is gradually getting going again during the coronavirus pandemic, but with the handbrake still on. Assembly work at processing companies is still restricted, for example, and there are reports of some delivery delays. Apart from that, strict hygiene measures and social distancing rules are also creating a certain amount of tension.

Nevertheless, the general mood seems to be positive, especially at injection moulding machinery manufacturer Arburg (Lossburg / Germany; www.arburg.com), which has been able to keep production going right through the crisis. The company also has a partnership with Swiss speciality chemicals group Ems (Domat; www.ems-group.com) and eyewear manufacturer Uvex (Fürth / Germany; www.uvex.de) to produce safety glasses at its Lossburg site for use in hospitals and other healthcare institutions (see Plasteurope.com of 14.04.2020).

Austrian injection moulding machinery manufacturer Engel (Schwertberg; www.engelglobal.com) has restarted production and assembly at its sites in Austria. The two machinery factories in Schwertberg and St. Valentin as well as its plant for robotics and automation in Dietach went back on stream on schedule after the Easter holidays. Work has also resumed again in some offices. By staggering the working hours and break times, the density of people can be limited and the chairs in the offices have been rearranged so as to maintain a minimum distance apart of 1.5 m. Engel is providing its staff with masks, has shortened the cleaning intervals and ensures that highly frequented facilities and equipment are regularly disinfected. Visits to the plant and machine acceptance testing, on the other hand, will not be possible until further notice.

In mid-March, Engel decided to halt production and assembly at its Austrian plants after the number of new infections in the vicinity of the plants had increased considerably (see Plasteurope.com of 20.03.2020). Its Asian production plants in China and South Korea have been operating normally again since February (see Plasteurope.com of 06.04.2020).

In separate news, the Austrian machinery maker announced leadership changes at Engel France and Engel Benelux. Romain Reyre is taking over from Philippe Sterna as head of the sales and service subsidiary in France, while Arthur van Dijk will be the new managing director for the Netherlands-based Benelux subsidiary. Franz Hinterreiter, who led Engel Benelux in the interim, is returning to his previous role as head of sales for automotive in Schwertberg.

For plastics machinery manufacturer KraussMaffei (Munich / Germany; www.kraussmaffei.com), the coronavirus-related plant closures (see Plasteurope.com of 31.03.2020) at its German sites ended on 20 April 2020. Operation is gradually being resumed while keeping to “the strictest of hygiene measures.” During the site closures, production, assembly and delivery of finished machines came to a halt. The machinery manufacturer says there could be some delivery delays and restrictions in the near future, especially in assembly and commissioning.

Within the Wittmann Group (Vienna / Austria; www.wittmann-group.com), work is continuing at its production plants in Hungary and China. Following the stoppages at Wittmann’s three Austrian sites, two in Vienna and one in Wolkersdorf (see Plasteurope.com of 06.04.2020), these are also back in full operation. Production at the injection moulding machine facility operated by Wittmann Battenfeld in Kottingbrunn / Austria had been temporarily halted until 20 April. Its production facility for granulators located in La Buisse / France was able to partly resume production on 9 April. At its two plants that belong to its US branch Wittmann Battenfeld (Torrington, Connecticut; www.wittmann-ct.com), the workforce is still working on a voluntary basis.

At the same time, the Chinese manufacturer of plastics injection moulding machines Haitian International (Ningbo, Zhejiang; www.haitian.com) reports a return to full operation of its production lines. Since the Covid-19-related stoppage at its Chinese plants, Haitian gradually began resuming operations on 10 February (see Plasteurope.com of 27.03.2020). In March, the group’s subsidiary Haitian Plastics Machinery delivered more than 4,000 machines with a production value of over CNY 1 bn (EUR 128m). At Haitian International Germany (Ebermannsdorf; www.haitiangermany.com), teams in the warehouses, assembly department and applications centre were reduced to a minimum and provided with masks. Employees in service, sales and administration are predominantly working from home.

Meanwhile, German manufacturer of pilot and laboratory lines Collin Lab & Pilot Solutions (Maitenbeth; www.collin-solutions.com) has created a line to produce protective PET shield films for visors to be supplied to the European medical sector during the coronavirus pandemic (see Plasteurope.com of 15.04.2020).

Despite the country-wide lockdown in Italy, plastics machinery facilities are fully operative for the most part. Auxiliary equipment supplier Piovan’s (Santa Maria di Sala / Italy; www.piovan.com) production sites, services and sales are in continuous operation.

Injection moulding machinery manufacturer Negri Bossi (Milan; www.negribossi.com) also has production running and has carried out an “extraordinary work of change for the good of the community,” it said. Since 9 April, the company has been using two injection machines to produce masks to counter the spread of Covid‐19. Its masks made of thermoplastic rubber can be reused due to the interchangeable filter fabric, and there is also the possibility of upgrading to higher-level protection by insertion of an exhalation valve filter.

The mould was built in by Esistampi (Monte Roberto / Italy; www.esistampi.it), a mould manufacturer based near Ancona / Italy. Manufacturing can reach up to 500 masks per hour. Together with Negri Bossi, other partners include Francesco Franceschetti Elastomeri (Corte Franca / Italy; www.f-franceschetti.it), which donated the polymer material, and Ravizza Packaging (Alpignano / Italy; www.ravizzapackaging.com), which donated a bagging machine.

Machinery manufacturer Tecnomatic (Azzano San Paolo / Italy; www.tecnomaticsrl.net) said on 10 April that it was listed as “essential” business according to the Italian government’s announcements (see Plasteurope.com of 26.03.2020) and was continuing to operate production. The company had put in place several protective measures for its employees.

In contrast, tooling specialist Motan-Colortronic’s (Isny / Germany; www.motan-colortronic.com) subsidiaries in Italy and India are remain closed on government orders. However, service and spare parts are still up and running in these locations. After a government-ordered shutdown in China at the beginning of this year, Motan’s business in Asia is beginning to return to normal. “In France, Switzerland and Germany it seems like the pandemic has not yet reached its peak, and we are expecting further measures to be put in place,” the company announced on 15 April.