Open House 2018 at Kautex Maschinenbau

Presentations and live demos
The extensive presentation line-up, with internal and external speakers, covered topical issues such as energy efficiency and the “Industry 4.0” smart factory trend, as well as views on automation and service. With the particular interests of visitors in mind, the presentations on the first day focused on solutions for the packaging industry while the second day was devoted to the automotive segment and special applications.

The 31 demo machines were another major highlight. Visitors were able to watch some of them in live operation, one example being a packaging machine in the technical center where the mold trials of E-PET bottles was in process. Two virtual machines for training purposes were also made available for up-close inspection by visitors. The event was rounded off by a presentation of various retrofitting/modernization options and a demonstration of a test version for future services based on a current augmented reality application using smart glasses.

An evening event in the specially transformed technical center gave visitors an opportunity to speak directly to experts from Kautex. With waiters serving buffet food on trays, visitors were able to discuss topical issues in depth in a relaxed atmosphere.

New shareholder and new assembly hall
The Open House 2018 was the first company event attended by representatives of the company’s new majority shareholder. Following approval from the competition authorities, Austrian-based Plastech Beteiligungs GmbH took over 74.9 percent of the shares in Kautex Maschinenbau on February 23. Managing partner Andreas Lichtenauer was especially pleased with the chance to show customers the new assembly hall for KBB and KSB machines, which was completed just a few months ago: “We are continually striving to reduce lead times for our customers. This expansion of our Bonn location should improve our future capacity for on-time delivery,” affirmed Lichtenauer.

About Kautex Maschinenbau
Kautex Maschinenbau has enjoyed above-average growth during the last twelve years. The Group’s revenue has increased from approximately EUR 60 million in 2006 to around EUR 144 million in 2017. In addition to its HQ in Bonn, the Customer Service Center in Berlin and regional offices in the USA, Russia, China, Italy, India and Mexico, Kautex Maschinenbau operates an extensive global network of service and distribution offices. In Plastech, the Kautex management team under Dr. Olaf Weiland and Andreas Lichtenauer have the support of a medium-sized principal shareholder as strategic partner for the first time.