The Spectrum Plastics Group name belonged to the Pexco portfolio of brands as a result of its acquisition of the Minneapolis-based precision injection molder in 2013. It is relaunching with a new mark and logo.

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.

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.

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 new name underscores the wide and comprehensive range of plastic and material solutions it is now able to bring to market, most notably for the medical device sector. Spectrum Plastics Group will feature multiple thermoplastic and silicone tubing extrusion, injection molding, film, packaging, assembly and value-add manufacturing technologies across 20 plants, five countries, and three continents. More than 2,000 employees work for the merged companies.

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

The formation of Spectrum Plastics Group creates a more comprehensive suite of medical solutions under one provider, said Kolberg & Co. in a press release issued today. The medical business will consist of 15 manufacturing facilities across the globe and feature both thermoplastic and silicone technologies. Both Pexco and PPC Industries, however, will retain their industrial brands and marks for industrial profile extrusion and industrial packaging businesses, respectively.

Pexco has a more than 50-year history of providing injection molding and extrusion services to medical device OEMs. Kelpac Medical is specialized in medical tubing and assemblies. The companies will operate under the new name of Spectrum Plastics Group (Minneapolis, MN), which will have its official debut at the co-located MD&M East and PLASTEC East event in New York next month.

Spectrum Plastics Group looks forward to telling its story to MD&M East/PLASTEC East attendees at booth 1329. The event comes to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York from June 13 to 15. For more information about the trade show and conference, including a special keynote presentation from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, go to the event website.

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.

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.

Commenting on this new name and brand for the entire operating unit, Mauricio Arellano, President of the medical division, indicates that it fits the proposition perfectly. “We now bring a full spectrum and in most cases unmatched set of specialty plastics capabilities to the medical device sector, so the opportunity to relaunch our brand, one with a long history in medical devices and strong brand equity with our customers, was compelling. It speaks precisely to our unique position within the medical device market and our ability to support our customers’ noble mission of restoring health for millions of patients worldwide.”

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.

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.

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.

Mid-market private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. LLC (Mount Kisco, NY) announced today that it has closed the acquisition of Pexco and successfully merged it with PPC Industries Inc., a Kohlberg portfolio business that also comprises Kelpac Medical.

Successful merger of Pexco and PPC Industries provides medical customers with thermoplastic and silicone tubing extrusion, injection molding, film, packaging, assembly and value-add manufacturing technologies across 20 plants, five countries, and three continents.

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.

“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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.