The company has sold two machines in Europe for moulding sunroofs

The company has sold two machines in Europe for moulding sunroofs

Commercial applications for automotive glazing in polycarbonate are set to take off in 2006, according to Battenfeld. A handful of injection moulding machine makers are targeting the application and Battenfeld has already sold two 2,700-tonne machines to a European customer for moulding polycarbonate sunroofs. A fast mould will be delivered in September, to be followed by a production version.

“The future of large plastic glazing for motor vehicles has begun,” said managing director Fritz Dorner at an SMS Plastics Technologies preview for K 2004. The company will demonstrate its IMPMore glazing technology inEurope for the first time at K 2004, with partners Summerer and polycarbonate joint venture Exatec. The technology now permits glazing of up to 1 sq metre, twice the capability shown so far.

Reviewing last year’s “unsatisfactory performance” by SMS Plastics Technologies, new joint managing director Wilhelm Schroder pledged a series of measures to achieve a turnaround. However, staff numbers would remain at about 2,320, he said.