In late September, Onex Corp., a Toronto-based private-equity firm, agreed to acquire the  KraussMaffei Group of Germany for around $735 million from Madison Capital, which had owned KraussMaffei since 2006.

More speed, more power, more precision, and more automated functions accomplished in and out of the mold. That’s exactly what injection machinery suppliers were offering at NPE2012.

Hot buttons at the show will be multi-component molding, in-mold labeling/decorating (IML/IMD), in-mold assembly, medical molding, liquid silicone rubber (LSR), micro-molding, and high-speed packaging.

At last month’s Interpack fair in Germany, Netstal of Switzerland and two partners demonstrated a new approach to injection molding high-barrier rigid containers.

The world’s largest plastics show, coming up next month in Dusseldorf, Germany, provides ample evidence of the growing sway of electric drive technology in injection molding.

When you’re a successful injection molder with more than 40 years under your belt and more than 50 presses producing 1.8 billion containers and lids for food-packaging containers annually, what do you do when you feel the time is right to expand?

Show goers will see an electric injection machine in nearly every press maker’s booth this year, and electric/hydraulic hybrids in several.

U.S. injection molders are still pretty green when it comes to processing the new crop of renewably sourced biopolymers. These biologically derived polymers made from PLA, PHA and starch-based resins are attracting growing market interest as materials with no ties to petrochemical-based thermoplastics.

If you were looking for a new machine to mold micro- or mega-sized parts, multiple materials, long fibers, high-speed/high-cavitation packaging, exotic multi-material combinations with compounding on the machine, or just a cost-effective press for general-purpose use—K 2007 had it all.

At the big “K” Show next month, top billing goes to new all-electric machines aimed at every segment of the market, from general-purpose to high-end.

If you were buying an injection molding machine 20 years ago, you had to decide between a toggle or fully hydraulic clamp and that was pretty much it.

Mannesmann Plastics Machinery GmbH, Munich, the world’s largest maker of plastics and rubber machinery, announced a restructuring of its operations.

Molding higher volumes of a rigid thin-wall part typically means going to a larger press for increased injection and clamping capacity.

Advances in electric drive technology were evident in nearly every injection machine builder’s booth in Chicago.

Mannesmann Plastics Machinery (MPM) GmbH in Munich, Germany, the world’s largest maker of plastics and rubber processing machinery, is being purchased by Madison Capital Partners, a Chicago investment group, together with MPM managers.

Energy-saving all-electric machines will continue to be a big draw at NPE, where new designs or upgraded models will be found in virtually every press maker’s booth.

Multi-shot and coinjection molding techniques are staking out new territory. Mach ines are getting larger and are combining more materials or colors in more sophisticated and imaginative ways.

Putting out the biggest volume of product isn't the only way to be a market leader, says Michael Spies, CEO of Spies Kunststoffe GmbH in Melle-Gesmold, Germany.

Molders were treated to a trove of injection machinery introductions geared toward applications from micro-molding to packaging to large parts.

The diversity of electric machines will be on display at this year’s show, with several new all-electric versions in direct-drive and belt-driven versions.

These two show-goers found what they needed at NPE.

The abundance of injection molding news at this year’s show is staggering.

Stress-free production of large car windows, in-mold painting, and an injection unit that applies pack and hold while accumulating the next shot were a few of the cutting-edge technologies on display.

The October show in Dusseldorf saw an onslaught of new all-electric and hybrid-electric presses, with modular designs, new clamping styles, and new sizes available from an ever-growing range of suppliers.

All-electric machines will be one of the biggest themes in injection molding machinery at this year’s K show, where at least nine firms will bring out their first models.

The abundance of injection molding news at this year’s show is staggering. There are more and bigger all-electric machines than ever, including first-time introductions by several suppliers. Electric technology is also taking new forms, such as beltless drives and “direct-pressure” clamping without a toggle. Energy-saving electro-hydraulic hybrids are also evolving.