Milacron businesses collaborate on new technology, products, sales

Since then, Milacron's management team has moved aggressively to refocus its technology development and sales efforts. Consider this:

• Responsibility for new product development shifted from the various Milacron businesses to a centralized process that results in top management signing off and funding each effort. This structured process is based on having more customer input and creating products that have global appeal.

• Machinery systems that can "talk" to each other — and make corrections in the molding process without human intervention — are a major technology focus and will be displayed for the first time at NPE next March.

• Hundreds of sales and marketing personnel in all the Milacron companies have undergone extensive training to be able to sell complete, turnkey solutions. That means dealing with one sales person to buy a Milacron injection molding press, DME mold base and a Mold-Masters hot runner.

Bruce Catoen was named Milacron's chief technology officer six months ago and given a mandate to develop a three-year roadmap for product technology.

"We've taken a group of companies that were loosely tied together and are continuing to work on ways to tie them closer together," Catoen says. "That includes coming up with common processes and developing standards that are uniform across the businesses so we all speak the same language."

The companywide product development process, which aims for new products that can be sold globally, is a big part of melding the different businesses. Catoen says that new products can now leverage the total volume of Milacron to be manufactured more efficiently.

This shift in philosophy supports Milacron's emphasis on providing turnkey solutions.

"We see many opportunities to take different pieces of Milacron equipment and bring them together to provide additional value to customers," Catoen says.

"If [the part] is an injection molded application, we can also provide the whole melt-distribution system. We can provide control functionality, whether you want that embedded in the machine or you want that stand-alone."

Milacron can also provide auxiliary injection units (integrated or stand-alone), robots, chillers dryers, hopper-loaders and dehumidifiers, he added. "There is just a wide variety of normal, common auxiliaries that we can deliver with the primary equipment.

"In a Uniloy blow molding machine, customers can now get multilayer co-injection technology from Kortec, Mold-Master hot runners integrated with the machine and stand-alone or integrated temperature controls," he says.

Milacron can also rebuild used machinery, gearboxes, screws and barrels. It can even help a processor with plant plumbing, electrical and scaffolding needs. Milacron acquired American Extrusion Services, Springboro, Ohio, which specializes in extruder rebuilds and upgrades, late last year, and this summer launched Milacron Certified Pre-Owned to refurbish used processing machinery.

Advancements in technology continue to turn injection molding into more of a science and less of an art, Catoen said.

A big injection molding work cell today might have 10 different PLC controllers.

"If one thing runs out of control, there is no notification to other pieces of equipment in the work cell. The pieces of equipment don't speak to one another," Catoen said.

Milacron's NPE 2015 booth will showcase molding equipment communicating with other equipment and making decisions on adjustments without requiring the operator to intervene.

"That will be a differentiator for Milacron," says Mike Prachar, VP marketing for Global Plastics Machinery. "We have so much technology. Pulling it together and having it work together seamlessly provides something that is unique."

The shift in sales approach is paying off. "We have had numerous occasions where customers come in with a singular focus of a machine and walk away with a broad understanding of how to manage a process more efficiently, longer term, and they are looking at the total cost of ownership. There is a lot of value to be derived from these long-term views," he says.

Even with recent announcements of a $30 million investment in India and a $5 million expansion in China, Milacron's bigger portfolio of products means there is plenty of growth opportunity in North America from existing machinery companies.

"We are looking at areas that are growing, and that is why we are investing in China and India," Catoen says. "But we are also focusing on our historically strong markets and regions to gain a larger share of the wallet of our existing customers."

"Clearly, North America is an area of strength and focus for us," Prachar says. "To apply that broader base of portfolio solutions we think is really going to be a difference here."

Ron Shinn, editor

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