The items produced range from micro parts weighing just 0.03 g right up to large parts weighing 2 kg. In addition to manufacturing complex plastic parts by 1- or 2-component injection moulding, the company offers insert moulding for functional parts, mounting of complete assemblies, as well as gluing and welding, plus decoration by 4-colour pad printing and laser printing, and 3D scanning for reverse engineering.

Requirements from the customer base concerning quality standards and attributes of the parts in terms of tolerances, outward appearance and materials used are constantly becoming more and more stringent. FUSO scores with purchasers by its extensive technical know-how and many years of experience in making high-quality parts and assemblies. This wealth of expertise enables the company to offer top-quality solutions which are both sustainable and cost-efficient. FUSO also stands out on the market by its high supply availability and reliability towards its customers.

“The Insider cells based on the servo-hydraulic SmartPower and WITTMANN linear robots meet our requirements in every respect”, Maximilian Högn confirms. “The equipment is space-saving, highly energy-efficient, easily accessible and easy to operate.”

In addition to a good price-performance ratio, FUSO requires from injection moulding machines above all stability, as well as easy access for servicing and cleaning, a smooth, easy-to-clean surface, user-friendliness in operation and a high standard of repeatability. Other factors gaining increasingly in significance are the machines’ energy efficiency, their networkability with robots and auxiliaries and availability of assistance systems.

GreenTek is working on inking multiple distribution deals to get its product into grocers and restaurants. The company currently has a partnership with Follow The Leader Distribution, which is based in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada.

Joh. Fuchs & Sohn – FUSO – was established in 1947 in Waidhofen on the river Ybbs in Lower Austria. In 1964, it started off into plastic injection moulding by producing the orange-coloured lids for Ovomaltine cans.

LONG BEACH, Calif., Sept. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Made from all natural elements, including U.S.-grown industrial hemp, GreenTek Packaging LLC's newly launched Hemptensils™ is the first in-kind brand of plant-based disposable utensils that, unlike wasteful plastic end-use products, won't harm the environment. Developed by engineer and GreenTek Founder Jordan Hinshaw, Hemptensil forks, spoons, and knives are 100 percent bio-based (they have no petroleum) and are compostable, meaning they can break down heat and bacteria into water, air, and carbon dioxide. However, if the products were to end up in a landfill, they would not be devastating to the environment. The products also have a shelf life of more than four years. GreenTek is currently selling Hemptensils products on ecommerce channels, including its own website, Amazon, and the new "Shop" channels on Facebook and Instagram.

"There are 40 billion single use utensils used in America every year, of which barely nine percent are recycled. And considering the fact that businesses are using more plastic during the COVID-19 pandemic than they previously were, there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050," said Hinshaw. "Hemptensils offers a sustainable alternative that leans into the reality of our failing recycling systems to minimize our impact. Using Hemptensils greatly reduces the amount of plastic produced, and as a result, reduces the amount of long term waste created. Plus, working solely with American hemp growers gives us the ability to strengthen our economy. Essentially, by using Hemptensils products, consumers and businesses can play their part to create both a greener, healthier future and a much more sustainable economy."

Last, but not least, the quality of the after-sales service including the possibility of using an online service also play an important part in the purchasing decision according to Klaus Großtesner. In the acquisition of robots, easy programmability is a top priority in addition to all other criteria which are also applicable to the machines.

Additionally, GreenTek puts a major focus on sustainable production, as well as building American communities, farms, and manufacturing in accordance with the federal legalization of industrial hemp (less than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol) for a stronger, greener economic future. The company partners with growers in California, Kentucky, and North Dakota and is additionally in talks with a few other co-ops that represent hundreds of acres of hemp in the Midwest to see what can be done with their waste profiles. Never has there been greater uncertainty as to the future of the American economy, but purchasing domestically produced hemp enriches both the consumer and the nation.

The company makes a point of supplying technical plastic parts and assemblies to a solid, mixed industrial customer base. The various sectors served by FUSO include the automotive and railway industries, as well as consumer goods, electronics, medical technology, building construction, telecommunication, mechanical engineering and renewable energy generation.

The family-owned company managed by its CEO Maximilian Högn and its CSO Klaus Großtesner makes highly sophisticated plastic parts from a great variety of materials, including high-temperature plastics, for many different sectors of industry, with about 80 workers on a production floor of just under 3,000 m².

The machines delivered in 2023 also come already equipped with the new B8X control system and the HiQ Flow assistance system. The B8X control system includes several control components developed in-house. These allow a higher internal clock frequency with shorter response times to sensor signals and consequently a higher standard of parts reproducibility, with user-friendliness and familiar visualisation remaining unchanged.

Established in 2019, GreenTek Packaging LLC is a Black Minority Owned Business that designs and manufactures eco-friendly packaging solutions and apparel. The company produces hemp-based, compostable plastics to offset virgin plastics being dumped into our oceans and into our food chains. The company's product line currently consists of Hemptensils hemp-based disposable utensils, hemp polymer cosmetic containers, and secondary packaging. GreenTek's design team also works with businesses to create custom packaging options. In addition, to strengthen the American economy, GreenTek exclusively partners with and sources the hemp for its products from growers based in the U.S. For more information on GreenTek and its products, please visit GreenTekSupplies.com.

The HiQ Flow assistance system is an injection regulation function by which viscosity fluctuations in the material used can be compensated. This function enables automatic process automation and compensates even minimal fluctuations in the material quality. FUSO is so completely satisfied with this system that all of the company’s other machines have been retrofitted with it, too, wherever technically feasible and economically advisable.

3D prints for rapid prototyping are also possible. Injection moulding tools and automation systems are planned, designed and manufactured in-house at the company’s own mould-making shop. For ecological purposes, the company has made a special point of installing tool-friendly cooling water systems. Further evidence of FUSO’s commitment to protecting the environment are waste heat utilisation and a photovoltaic system.

From the left: Martin Stammhammer, Int. sales manager Robots, WITTMANN Technology, Maximilian Högn, CEO of FUSO, Klaus Großtesner, CSO of FUSO, Andreas Högn, majority shareholder and advisor, FUSO, Roland Pechtl, area sales manager WITTMANN BATTENFELD

GreenTek also has plans to start selling new hemp straw products. Those interested in staying updated on GreenTek's new product launches should follow the company on Facebook @ShopHemptensils, on Instagram @shophemptensils, on Twitter @GreenTekPlanet, and on LinkedIn (GreenTek Packaging, LLC).

To make all these parts, a number of injection moulding machines ranging from 450 to 5,200 kN in clamping force are in operation, 17 of which have come from WITTMANN BATTENFELD. Moreover, FUSO is also a long-standing customer of the WITTMANN Group for automation equipment, using more than 40 handling devices with load capacities from 5 to 30 kg, including No. 7 robots as well as latest No. 9 series models with R9 control systems.

The cooperation between FUSO and WITTMANN BATTENFELD has already been in existence for four decades. The machines most recently supplied by WITTMANN BATTENFELD are exclusively models from the SmartPower series. The machines from the SmartPower series are hydraulic machines equipped with fast-responding servo motors and powerful constant displacement pumps. This technology, combined with the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) to recover the deceleration energy within the machine, which is included as standard, provides the SmartPower’s high level of energy efficiency. Further characteristics of the SmartPower are its small footprint and its pivotable injection unit, which ensures easy access to the barrel for quick and comfortable barrel change.

Additionally, GreenTek puts a major focus on sustainable production, as well as building American communities, farms, and manufacturing in accordance with the federal legalization of industrial hemp (less than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol) for a stronger, greener economic future. The company partners with growers in California, Kentucky, and North Dakota and is additionally in talks with a few other co-ops that represent hundreds of acres of hemp in the Midwest to see what can be done with their waste profiles. Never has there been greater uncertainty as to the future of the American economy, but purchasing domestically produced hemp enriches both the consumer and the nation.

All SmartPower machines except one are designed as Insider cells, which means that they come with a WITTMANN robot and a conveyor belt integrated in the production cell. This variant offers a number of advantages, ranging from an enormous amount of space saved compared to systems with conventional automation solutions, all the way to cost advantages from the fact that all hazardous areas are already secured and certified ex works. Moreover, the robot cycle time can be minimised due to shorter travel distances and direct parts depositing on the conveyor belt.

GreenTek purchases processed, decorticated hemp that has been converted into petroleum-free hemp pellets to produce its Hemptensils products. At its facility in Long Beach, the company combines pellets with decomposition accelerating enzymes, heats the mixture, and then injection-presses it into a custom mold.

With the rising demands from customers on the parts and assemblies produced, FUSO’s own demands on the injection moulding equipment used are also increasing. The company’s machinery is state-of-the-art, with a high level of automation on its production floor. All systems are fitted with matching robots to ensure careful parts handling.

In addition to Hemptensils, GreenTek manufactures hemp polymer cosmetic containers and secondary packaging products. The hemp polymer cosmetic containers offer an innovative solution to the billions of temporary plastic containers produced only to be thrown away. And, from exterior hemp paper boxes to compostable shipping labels, seals, and stickers, GreenTek's secondary packaging products provide the essential accessories for purists and enthusiasts alike. GreenTek's design team also offers additional custom, bio-based packaging options at best-in-class pricing.