ENGEL HL-Award 2007
On 25 October, the 2007 ENGEL HL Awards were presented within the framework of the K 2007 in Düsseldorf. Companies that use ENGEL injection moulding machines with tie bar-less clamping units and that apply the concept in an especially innovative and economic manner were honoured. Gold, silver and bronze went to Hirtenberger Automotive Safety AG in Hirtenberg (Austria), ZKW Slovakia s.r.o. in Krusovce (Slovakia) and plastic concept GmbH in Neusalza-Spremberg (Germany).
The awards were presented during an evening function on 25 October 2007 in the Düsseldorf Congress Centre. An independent jury – Prof. Johannes Wortberg from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Prof. Rudolf Stauber from the BMW Group and Markus Lüling of Lüling Marketing Communication – selected the six “best” concepts from a total of 18 submissions from 9 countries. The jury looked for advanced technical solutions and economic benefits compared to production with conventional machines.
The winners
First place went to Hirtenberger Automotive Safety AG in Hirtenberg. Hirtenberger is concerned with the production of pyrotechnical components in the automotive industry for passenger and pedestrian protection. The long-established Lower Austrian firm convinced the jury with an innovative application for the direct encapsulation by injection moulding of pyrotechnical material on an ENGEL e-motion. The main advantage of the tie bar-less machine is increasing production by reducing the cycle time due to the optimum conditions for automation. The ENGEL e-motion provides the injection process precision and mould protection required for working with highly explosive material.
ZKW Slovakia s.r.o. came in second place. The company works on manufacturing headlamps for automobiles. The prize-winning application is front headlamps, which must be produced in a clean room – in this case, an ENGEL victory was used due to its suitability especially for demanding work in a clean room environment. The tie bar-less construction offers best-of-breed through flow and is thus perfectly suited to the exacting technical challenges of clean room production. Furthermore, this machine providesoptimum freedom for automation with jointed-arm robots.
The third-place winner was plastic concept GmbH, based in Neusalza-Spremberg in Saxony (Germany), which manufacture thermostat lids for automobile construction. Due to the very large and bulky mould, a tie bar-less ENGEL victory injection moulding machine – with its low space requirements – is the best option. In addition, the freely accessible mould space is a great advantage in this application due to the complicated insertion and remova procedure.
Places four to six
In addition to the gold, silver and bronze trophies, places four to six were awarded with citations of recognition. Fourth place went to Winzeler Gear in Harwood Heights (USA). Schneegans Silikon GmbH in Losenstein (Austria) received the certificate for fifth place, while sixth place went to DaimlerChrysler AG in Hamburg (Germany).