KraussMaffei's U.S.-built extruders; Conair startup service; 'swimming professor': Machinery Minutes, March 3, 2025

On this episode of Machinery Minutes, you'll hear about the two large extruders KraussMaffei is building at its facility in Florence, Ky. The move is intended to reduce lead times in the growing North American market, and enhance regional customer support and access to parts.

Conair's new SureLaunch program sends a technician to your facility for a day to make sure your new auxiliary equipment is started up and optimized for maximum performance. It's the company's third service offering as customers deal with workforce issues and more complex technologies.

Chemistry professor Andreas Fath has been drawing attention to the issue of microplastics and other waterway pollutants through marathon swims, supported by Arburg. Hear more about the "Swimming Professor" and his cause.

Transcript

Welcome to Machinery Minutes, where at the beginning of each week I share with you three things you need to know in about three minutes. You can read the complete stories on plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com.

No. 1 – KraussMaffei has added production of pipe and profile extruders at Florence, Ky., facility.

As of Jan. 22, the company is assembling two of its largest extruders for high-demand industrial applications in the U.S. A KME150-36B/R extruder is being built for a large 54-inch HDPE pipeline, and a KMD164-32P/L sheet extruder is being tested for a large foam PVC production line.

Additional extruders in the same lines will be built in Florence as they are ordered.

Krauss Maffei’s decision to produce extruders in the United States won’t alter the designs or the quality of the German engineering, said Doug Alexander, business development and expert sales manager at KraussMaffei. However, it will mean the company can deliver machines to North American customers with greater efficiency.

The move will reduce lead times in the growing North American market, and enhance regional customer support and access to parts, according to the company.

The change has been in the works since 2023, Alexander said, well before the recent turmoil in international trade and tariff threats. Most of KM’s extrusion equipment is manufactured at its plant in Laatzen, Germany.

The full story is available on the PMM website under the headline: “KraussMaffei now building extruders in U.S.”

No. 2 – Conair, a Pennsylvania-based auxiliary manufacturer, has introduced SureLaunch, a new service that sends a technician for a day to assist with the setup of new equipment and conduct training.

The program addresses customers’ workforce shortage issues and will help them get more out of advanced technologies, said Jerry Fleming, Conair’s service manager. Organizations are losing ‘legacy’ knowledge about equipment and processes as older experienced workers retire, and SureLaunch will help customers fill that knowledge gap.

Learn more by reading the story headlined: “Conair SureLaunch gives equipment the right start.”

No. 3 – Chemistry professor Andreas Fath, known as the Swimming Professor, was 59 years old in August and September when he swam 673 miles along the Elbe River from the mountains in the Czech Republic to the river's mouth in Cuxhaven, Germany.

The journey lasted 25 days and entailed eight hours of swimming each day. Along the way, he and his team took daily water samples, which they analyzed for pollutants and microplastics.

His journey garnered plenty of media attention. This wasn’t his first foray into river swimming to promote concerns about water pollutants and microplastics – it was his fourth since 2014, when he swam the length of the Rhine. He also tackled the Tennessee River in the United States in 2017.

Read about Fath’s dedication to the environment, the challenges he faces during the swims, and how he physically prepares, and his partnership with injection molding machine maker Arburg. Fath recently granted me a wide-ranging interview, which you can read online under the headline: “Professor takes sustainability deep dive.”

Those are my Top 3 items you need to know for this week. We have a new list every Monday.