Plastics News - Show Daily - October 15, 2024 - 1

October 15, 2024  PlasticsNews.com
©Entire contents copyright 2024 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.
Market recovery remains elusive, Wittmann says
Hopes for improvement pinned on 2025
By Karen Laird
Plastics News Staff
WITTMANN BATTENFELD
DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
B1-1204
With order income remaining at
a relatively low volume and many
of the markets in which the Wittmann
Group operates still performing
sluggishly, it very much
looks like, in fi nancial terms, 2024
will be ending not with a bang but
with a whimper.
" From a fi nancial standpoint,
the year is almost over, and we
don't see many surprises coming
up. As we predicted at the Competence
Days in June, we expect to
achieve a revenue of between 360
million to 370 million euros, which
translates into a minus of around
10 percent in general " said Michael
Wittmann, CEO of Wittmann
Group, speaking at a pre-Fakuma
show press conference.
While overall sales showed a
Wittmann at
Fakuma 2024 in
Friedrichshafen,
Germany.
Plastics News photo
by Caroline Seidel
very slight 2 percent increase over
the fi rst nine months of last year,
this was primarily due to sales of
auxiliary equipment - " low-ticket
items, " said Wittmann - which
tend to fl uctuate less than those of
Engel and 'indications of a positive trend' PAGE 3
Sumitomo cutting jobs in Germany PAGE 10
By Catherine Kavanaugh
Plastics News Staff
The Fakuma trade show in Friedrichshafen,
Germany, is a favorite
platform for the machine builders
at Arburg, which is based a couple
hours south in Lossburg, Germany.
Arburg will have 18 machines on
exhibit.
The 101-year-old family-run
company will focus on machine
effi ciency and process innovations
at the 29th annual Fakuma
event, according to Arburg Managing
Director Juliane Hehl, who
oversees global marketing and
business development.
" Arburg's 1,340-square-meter
stand refl ects just how important
the trade fair is to us, " Hehl told
Plastics News in an email.
Eleven machines will be at the
company booth and seven machines
will be at partner booths
with products for the medical,
personal care, leisure and additive
manufacturing sectors.
" Besides new machine and process
technology, the importance
of automation, digitalization and,
above all, very pragmatic issues
around resilience will
continue to grow, " Hehl
said.
She also told PN
about developments
related to " paper
pearls " - recycled paper
fi bers combined
with bio-based and biothe
" big-ticket " machinery.
One surprising development
has been the disruption of the
slight upward trending line seen
throughout the fi rst seven months
of the year. This came to a halt in
August, he said. " I expected August
to be slow, but it failed to
pick up again in September. However,
we are very hopeful that we
will return to the previous trend
seen in the fi rst half of the year
during the upcoming months.
Let's say a little bit more normalization
of the market. Currently
it's just really, really low. "
He added that, while October
has performed slightly better
compared to September, it has not
reached the levels he expected. " In
all honesty, I cannot say why this
is happening; I don't understand it
at all, and I have no explanation. "
The current slump has already
lasted two years, he pointed out.
Orders started decreasing in September
2022. In the meantime, the
market has undergone changes
and adjustments. It must now
See Wittmann, Page 11
VISIT US
AT BOOTH
#FW-07
Effi ciency, resilience key messages for Arburg at Fakuma
ARBURG
Hall A3,
Booth 3101
degradable plastic - and a shatterproof
and sustainable alternative
to glass and disposable items.
Q: Why is Arburg also shining
a spotlight on paper injection
molding? Is it more a novelty
exhibit, or have you noticed demand
moving in this direction?
Hehl: With this innovative process,
we are demonstrating how
standard Allrounders can be used
to manufacture sustainable injection
molded products. Instead of
conventional plastic granules, socalled
paper pearls are processed.
We have been working with
See Arburg, Page 10
Besides new
machine and
process technology,
the importance
of automation,
digitalization and,
above all, very
pragmatic issues
around resilience will
continue to grow. "
Juliane Hehl
Arburg
Plastics News photo by Caroline Seidel
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Plastics News - Show Daily - October 15, 2024

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