By Karen Hanna
A year that made remote work a reality for millions of people — especially office workers — has left its mark on manufacturing, too.
Having seen an increase over the past year in demand for packaging, and consumer and medical products, Milacron predicts processors will continue to invest in automation and remote connectivity in 2021.
“The surge in demand is putting a strain on our customers for skilled labor in their factories. As a result, our customers are searching for automation cells and solutions, which has increased demand for our products serving these needs,” said Ron Gulbransen, technical product manager for auxiliaries.
Gulbransen said the pandemic has fueled demand from medical-parts manufacturers for robotic systems to take on part assembly and other post-molding processes, including quality inspection and packing. In-mold-labeling technologies also are in demand.
“We’re experiencing unprecedented sales of robots, which are fundamental to any complete automation cell,” he said.
The extraordinary pressures on medical manufacturers have created “challenging delivery times of medical parts,” said Fadi Abdal, the company’s VP of sales for Latin America, rest of world and global strategic accounts.
As the medical industry surged, the automotive market receded in 2020.
“This market was expected to see higher output in 2020; however, production for this segment seemed to struggle to thrive due to many different factors this year, including the pandemic,” said Robert Dishman, VP of after-market services. “On the flip side, emerging technologies among all-electric vehicles are rising in this sector, as numerous companies race to fill their new facilities with technologies and roll these out to consumers.”
Dishman said Milacron continues to innovate. For example, its user-friendly controls, including the Mosaic+, make machine installation and delivery easy, while its customizable screws offer numerous benefits, including energy efficiency, shorter cycle times, material savings and the ability to handle difficult-to-process resins.
The company offers a suite of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) services and products that monitor maintenance needs; make machines easier to use; and leverage data to improve cycle times, machine performance and part quality, as well as reduce downtime and scrap. Its offerings include M-Powered, a suite of services that troubleshoots potential problems early by analyzing users’ machine data.
“Through our vast support network of dedicated associates and expertise, Milacron’s breakthrough IIoT management allows customers to succeed through customizing continuous improvement of performance,” Dishman said.
Coming off an unprecedented year, Milacron’s commitment to its customers remains, Abdal said.
“Milacron’s target focus is on the success of our customers,” he said. “We are planning additional measures among our facilities to continue to offer competitive lead times for all our solutions to meet the demands among the market.”
Karen Hanna, associate editor
Contact:
Milacron LLC, Batavia, Ohio, 513-536-2000, www.milacron.com
See what other machine builders and users had say in response to our annual machinery buying survey story coming in your January print issue and on plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com.
