Plastics News - Show Daily - October 19, 2022 - 3

SHOW DAILY
NISSEI GROUP
Hall 14, B38
theme is " inclusive growth, " with
Nissei offi cials saying they are
raising the bar for production
with advanced technologies that
improve factory environments
and the value of plastics.
Collaborative debut
The late 2019 merging of machine
builders Nissei in Asia and
Negri Bossi in Europe made sense,
bringing the companies complementary
sales outlets worldwide
and product lineups from small to
superlarge machines.
The timing just ahead of the
COVID-19 pandemic posed new
challenges but didn't stop research
and development teams
from collaborating on the NOVA
5eT series, which is based on Nissei's
fi fth-generation NEX-V series.
Company offi cials describe the
exterior as " sophisticated and
high-functioning, " and they said
the base offers several benefi ts.
The base has a new standard
Hozumi Yoda,
president of
Nissei Group, at
K 2022.
Plastics News photo
by Caroline Seidel
Nissei, Negri Bossi
unveil collaboration, aim
for 'inclusive growth'
By Catherine Kavanaugh
Plastics News Staff
The merging of two major injection
molding machine builders
- Nissei Plastic Industrial
Co. Ltd in Japan and Negri Bossi
SpA in Italy - at the onset of the
pandemic in 2020 meant embracing
a lot of change to collaborate
on a model launch for K 2022.
Using English as a common
language and online meetings to
share ideas when travel was restricted,
the combined companies'
fi rst project together resulted
in the NOVA5e-T series, a new
fl agship model that Negri Bossi
will sell to the European market.
Nissei developed the base of
the all-electric machine, and
Negri Bossi, a subsidiary of Nissei
Group, handled the external
design. Going forward, the procurements
and production bases
will be shared as the companies
make the best of their complementary
product lineups, which
cover a tonnage range of 7-7,000
metric tons (7.7-7,715 U.S. tons),
and sales outlets.
The NOVA5e-T Series shows
the combined strength of Nissei
Group moving into the era of the
Internet of Things.
" As a group, development capabilities
have been improved,
and the sales and service network
has been expanded. Brand
trust of Negri Bossi has been
rising, and inquiries have been
increasing, " Nissei offi cials said
in an email.
The early adopters of the NOVA5e-T
Series will be manufacturers
in the medical and containers
markets, they added.
The merged companies, which
were each founded in 1947,
also are close to another machine-making
milestone as they
mark their 75th anniversary.
" We expect to achieve the
200,000th installation around the
end of fi rst quarter or early second
quarter in 2023, " Nissei offi -
cials said.
Nagano-based
Nissei
was
founded in October 1947 by
Katashi Aoki, who converted
a hen house into a factory and
started producing shoe horns,
spoons, forks and umbrella handles.
To improve product quality,
he developed and built his
own injection molding machine,
which then became the focus of
the business in 1957.
Nissei builds presses, molds,
automatic molding systems and
measuring equipment. The publicly
traded company saw consolidated
sales of $331 million
(48,731 million yen) for the fi scal
year, ending March 2022. That's
up 17.1 percent compared with
the prior year.
Milan-based Negri Bossi, which
was founded by M. Pietro Negri
and Walter Bossi, has been focused
on presses with 50-700
metric tons (55-7,716 U.S. tons)
of clamp force.
The two companies' deep
roots in the plastic industry are
helping the teams come together.
" Both companies are commemorating
their 75th anniversaries
and have rich histories as injection
molding machine makers, making
us easier to understand each other, "
Nissei offi cials said. " We have
web meetings regularly to also
deepen mutual understanding. "
At K 2022, Nissei Group also
will display an advancement related
to processing polylactic
acid (PLA) derived from corns
and sugar canes. The biodegradable
resins are considered a
good prospect to replace petroleum-based
plastics.
Another Nissei Group exhibit
targets automotive-specifi c
applications, including electric
vehicles. The exhibit features
a hybrid-type vertical injection
molding machine - TWX220RIII25V
- that offers one of
the industry's lowest machine
heights with a 2,110kN (220-ton)
clamping force.
" We expect more parts will be
made of plastics, and integral
[modular] parts will be popular, "
Nissei offi cials said. " Nissei offers
low-fl oor type, mid- to large-tonnage
vertical machines in the
TWX Series (220 tonnes and 300
tonnes) that meet the molding
needs for large insert-molded
products. "
In addition, the company will
exhibit a new micromolding machine,
NEX30IV-1EN1, with 30
tonnes of clamping force for the
medical and electronics markets.
The press was added to the micromolding
machine lineup to
meet increasing demands in the
North American market, Nissei
offi cials said.
Before the pandemic, in 2019,
about 15 percent of Nissei sales
were to medical molders. Then
COVID-19 spread around the
globe and medical demand at the
company surged to 39 percent of
sales in 2020, followed by 31 percent
in 2021.
In 2022, the company's K show
screw for better plasticization
stability, which reduces molding
defects. It also provides uniform
pressure transmission to the
mold despite the toggle mechanism;
one of the widest platen
sizes and longest daylights in the
industry in a compact footprint;
and a new controller (TACT5),
which functions as a network
hub to connect auxiliary equipment
in the factory.
Compared to past generations
of controllers, the TACT5 improves
operability and functionality
when it comes to maintenance
and communication with
auxiliary equipment.
Overall, Nissei offi cials expect
the NOVA 5e-T series to have wide
appeal for being operator-friendly
with an IoT controller; mold-friendly
with uniform pressure transmission;
and environmentally friendly
in terms of energy savings, clean
operation and a higher rate of accepted
product.
At K 2022, the company is exhibiting
two presses from the
series. A NOVA 5e110T H230 with
1,080kN of clamping force will
produce cutlery that meets European
food-contact safety standards
from a composite material
of PLA and wood fl our.
Another press, a NOVA 5e180T
H590 with 1,765kN of clamping
force, will demonstrate the injection
blow molding of PLA bottles
in one process that incorporates
an in-mold labeling device.
Coming together
Nissei bought Negri Bossi to
add large-tonnage injection molding
machines and reach a greater
geography for its product line.
Nissei's sales staff is introducing
customers to the Negri Bossi machines
as they study their investment
options.
" We are confi dent that it will be
a huge addition for Nissei to be
able to offer [a] superlarge tonnage
range machine, which Nissei
did not offer before, " company
offi cials said, pointing to clamp
forces up to 7,000 tonnes.
Nissei offi cials see opportunity
in Japan to sell into the markets
for large containers and automotive
products. The machines in
the company's Negri Bossi's BIPower
Series and Nissei's FVX Series
and FWX Series are showing
wide appeal, they said.
Company offi cials are pleased
with the cross-selling progress.
Plastics News, October 19, 2022 * 3
" Because of the collaboration
between Nissei, Negri Bossi's
sales has increased, especially
in Europe and South America regions.
We are hoping to sell Nissei
machines to these regions in the
future, " company offi cials said.
Negri Bossi has two factories in
Italy and one in India. No layoffs
occurred during the merger, but
the number of employees is down
slightly with hiring underway.
Also in the works are plans to
increase production effi ciency and
address outsourcing at Negri Bossi.
" Currently, it is underway
to become less dependent on
outsourcing by utilizing Nissei
Group's business system and supply
chains, " Nissei offi cials said.
Company offi cials expect to
plan more face-to-face meetings
and corporate events, too.
" Since the pandemic hit right
after the merger and acquisition,
it was diffi cult for us to socialize
other than during work, and we
were not able to host parties for
staff, " Nissei offi cials said. " The
management has been sharing
information to its staff about Nissei
Group, purpose of M&A and
future plants in the briefi ngs to
gain understanding. When the
pandemic is behind us, we would
like to increase interactions. "
When it acquired Negri Bossi in
2020, the Nissei board of directors
bought 75 percent of the shares.
Nissei offi cials said the remaining
shares will be purchased soon.
Micromolding
The pandemic also spurred Nissei
researchers and developers
to design a new micromolding
machine, which resulted in the
NEX30IV-1EN1 molding resin medical
needles at K 2022. The press
is equipped with a two-stage type,
high-precision injection unit that
consists of a screw and plunger
capable of stable micromolding
under 1.0 gram per shot.
The injection stroke processes
material with improved controllability,
even at small volumes, according
to Nissei offi cials.
The company worked on a
medical application using a test
mold developed by Yamada Seiko
Co. Ltd., which is headquartered
in Uonuma City, Japan. Yamada
Seiko conducted a trial production
of micro resin needles for
potential clients in the medical
industries. Molding tests and
demonstrations of the resin needles,
which were made of polypropylene
and weighed 0.004 grams,
were successful in terms of the
linearity of the mold opening and
closing, high-speed injection and
high-pressure fi lling performance
of the machine, according to the
company.
In Japan, Nissei offi cials say the
company had a 46 percent share
of the market in 2021 for micro
precision injection molding machines,
which range from 1-190kN
of clamping force.
Other demonstrations
At K 2022, the company also
has a 6,500kN (650-ton) Vector sT
Series press with servo pumps
and a new controller molding coffee
machine body parts. The company
says the toggle press paired
with general-purpose automation
is a suitable injection molding machine
for the white goods, automotive,
containers and construction
markets.
Plastics News - Show Daily - October 19, 2022

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