Machinery manufacturer SIG Blowtec GmbH Co KG (D-53229 Bonn; www.sigplastics.com), created through the merger of the former Krupp Kautex and Fischer W. Müller Blasformtechnik (see Plasteurope.com 19, 2000), has announced deliveries to the Chinese market. In January, a blow moulding machine with a 150 mm extruder and 60-litre accumulator head was delivered to the Shanghai Fanshun Plastic Packaging Factory. The plant is used to produce Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) with a capacity of 1000 litres and transport pallets. Twenty-four IBCs, with a net weight of 18 kg each, can be produced per hour. In the case of pallets, 14 pallets can be produced per hour in each of two different sizes, employing a combined mould.

Two so-called “horizontal” 3D blow moulding machines with six-axle robots were delivered to Yangzhou and Shenyang for automotive supplies. While Yangzhou Auto Plastic Parts produces air intake manifolds for Shanghai Volkswagen and Wuhan Citroen, the Shenyang Jinbei Automotive Company uses the SIG Blowtec machine to manufacture internal ventilation ducts for a new up-market, mid-size car to be built entirely in China.