Negri Bossi developing automated moulding-to-finishing lines

Negri Bossi and its sister company Gaiotto, the robotics supplier, have announced an agreement with BASF that will lead to the development of a fully automated moulding-to-finishing production line aimed at the automotive sector. Gaiotto will have exclusive access to BASF’s Larolux technology for UV curing of coatings, which is said to offer a better finish than bi-component paint. Gaiotto will use this to develop its “Plus 200” system, it announced at the Plast 2006 show in Italy today.

Negri Bossi chairman Eugenio Ferragina was quoted by Italian newspaper Il sole 24 ore saying: “The plan is based on a radical change of strategy: the progressive transformation of Negri Bossi from a producer of standard high volume machines to a solution provider, a creator of integrated and customised production systems meeting the needs of the customer”. Negri Bossi hopes to redress its financial situation through the new strategy. After making a net profit of just E0.5m in 2004, the company made a net loss of E8.6m in 2005. Sales were down 20% to E98m in 2005.