Blown film technology specialist Reifenhäuser Kiefel Extrusion (Worms / Germany; www.reifenhauser-kiefel.com) on 1 January 2015 changed its name to Reifenhäuser Blown Film. Parent company Reifenhäuser Group (Troisdorf / Germany; www.reifenhauser.com) said the name change underlines the complete integration of the Kiefel Extrusion business, which it acquired in 2009 from Brückner (Siegsdorf / Germany; www.brueckner.de) – see Plasteurope.com of 28.08.2009.

The new name also signifies a strategic change in the business unit, Reifenhäuser said, adding that its activities will be more closely integrated into its work-sharing processes. Reifenhäuser Blown Film will benefit from a number of investments, totalling more than EUR 2m and aimed at raising in-house parts machining. Not only will the company move a large vertical machining centre from group headquarters to Worms, the site will also receive a new 3D measuring machine.

Reifenhäuser Blown Film is headed by Fritz Dorner, who took over as the unit’s CEO on 1 October 2014 already, replacing Bernd Reifenhäuser, who will focus his attention on leading the overall group. The company said that Dorner will have his work cut out for him, as both the Worms and Troisdorf sites have full order books.

The German machinery maker added that the name change means that from January 2015 onwards, all its businesses now carry the Reifenhäuser name, followed by the area of specialisation, thus streamlining its brand.