Plastics processors invest in mega-machines for larger parts

One of JSW’s biggest electric models is at Evco, which installed the first JSW J3000F two-platen electric IMM in the U.S. at its Oshkosh, Wis., headquarters, according to Anna Bartz, VP of communications of Evco. The 388,000-pound machine has clamping forces of 3,305 tons.  

For Evco, which runs machines as small as 55 tons in its plants, it’s all about delivering a big impact for the customer.  

Employees experienced with smaller machines need separate training to deal with bigger presses, which pose their own set of challenges, though, said Richard Duval, VP of operations for the Madison, Wis.-based company.  

“Everything is bigger, heavier and costs a lot more money to be able to do that business.”  

Numbers crunch  

For Evco’s biggest machines, one of the newest developments might be more often associated with smaller machines and bigger volumes: Big data.  

Pioneering the path for data-based decisions are teams of analytics experts and programmers who have tailored open-source software to Evco’s needs, starting with medical applications and smaller machines that have allowed them to home in on processes over time. Data sets for those kinds of applications come fast and furious, with the potential for zeroing in on outcomes and maintaining results over many, many cycles.  

But Evco’s teams aren’t stopping there.  

Over the last month, Duval said, “we just hooked up a couple of machines in one of our big-tonnage plants, and that data is coming online.”  

While the margin for error often is wider with bigger parts, customers still expect good aesthetics. That means that when big parts are scrapped, gobs of money are wasted at all once.  

As Duval said, “The expense of scrap on the big tonnage is daunting.”  

That’s why, for bigger parts, getting the mold right from the beginning — Evco builds its own — is crucial.  

“The biggest challenge is typically the smaller, high-volume parts have some precision needs to them. They’re less cosmetic, they’re more data-driven,” Duval said. “You get some of the bigger molded parts, that can get more challenging and throw you curveballs. They might be for surface parts, and they’re huge channels, and if you design the molds wrong or you create problems when you build those molds, now you’re trapped."  

Further up the line, data can help optimize the process.  

In hooking up molding machines and auxiliary equipment, Evco is now able to correlate in real time processing outcomes, with conditions such as water consumption, temperatures and pressures, rather than having to dig through spreadsheets to see what was going on when something went wrong.  

As it is for many companies, it’s a work in progress at Evco, but Duval spoke with excitement about the potential for data streams to improve the company’s bottom line; already at the two most-connected plants, scrap is down to 2 percent.  

So far, that’s just for the smaller machines, but Duval said there’s reason to believe data will only continue to drive improvement across the company.  

“After working here for 30 years and having customers ask you tough questions about a product that isn’t performing the way it should, being able to find a solution for the problem very quickly, it makes everybody happier. You have less stress, and you understand what the problem is, so you can prevent it from reoccurring, even if there was a processing parameter that someone changed inadvertently.”  

That’s a selling point for customers of Evco, which makes a variety of parts, including, on the large-tonnage machines, components for agricultural, power sports and recreational equipment, as well as backup power systems and cooling systems.  

“There’s smiles on their faces, because ... if something ever does go wrong, it’s a very assignable cause,” Duval said.  

Containers and cars  

Check out the containers in a home-goods aisle, and you’ll notice the big boxes that have helped propel LS Mtron to a new milestone: In recent months, it’s cornered 10 percent of the North American market, with much of its success due to the burgeoning popularity of totes — a major product for makers of big IMMs and their customers.  

Overall, the Korea-based OEM is now halfway to the 20 percent mark executives like Paul Caprio have said would compel it to open new plants on this continent.  

Whether for storing home goods or water in underground reservoirs, containers have gotten huge. Along with totes, big IMMs can make a wide range of parts: furniture; auto parts, including fascias; electric-vehicle battery systems; garbage cans; pallets; and components for data-center cooling centers. Companies including Evco also have won big-part work by finding ways to consolidate and mold smaller related parts all at once.  

Caprio conceded in mid-August that totes never seemed all that important — at least up until a decade or so ago.  

Now?  

“We have a lot of customers that make totes, and a tote is normally running on a 1,400-ton press, and now Home Depot and Lowe’s and Costco are making totes that are running in a 2,500-ton, [for] a 100-gallon tote, instead of a 27-gallon tote,” said Caprio, VP of sales for LS Mtron Injection Molding Machine USA.  

Big parts rarely get served up in big volumes, but totes are an exception — the kind of part that makes possible set-it-and-forget-it molding projects.  

But Evco has found another way to solve the big-part, small-order riddle — it’s been running one part in particular for more than a decade.  

By consolidating small parts for a piece of agricultural equipment, it secured a long-lasting opportunity.  

“Think of a harvester in the field, harvesting corn,” Duval said. “You have what you call chaff from the corn when the harvester’s going through. You don’t want the harvester to be sucking that into the engine systems, so [the machines] have a big screen on the outside. ... The customer used to mold that into — I can’t remember — maybe eight different sections, and they’d fold them together.”  

Working together, Evco and the customer collaborated on consolidating the design — a process that can sometimes result in much larger parts, but, depending on the costs and duration of the project, can produce a return on investment that justifies the use of bigger machines and gigantic new molds.  

In the case of the harvester screen, Evco was able to mold a 50-inch-diameter screen, all in one shot, eliminating assembly costs.  

“There’s times they could have been three or four components, maybe we can get it down to two. The cost savings there is significant. There’s a number of products that our team has done that with that have made a big difference for both us and the client,” Duval said.  

Big machines bring prestige, opportunity  

A big machine can put a company on the map, and push the boundaries of its capabilities.  

That’s what Belli SAS, based in Bellignat, France, near Switzerland, seemed to be aiming for when it accepted its Haitian JU88000 in late 2023, as Managing Director Eric Chanal explained: “I wanted to have no limits on the injection volume and told myself I would take the largest machine in the world so that I could produce very, very large parts.” His company manufactures a wide range of products for the environment, leisure, and home and garden sectors.  

Mike Gepfert, COO of 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics LLC, Holiday City, Ohio, echoed Chanal’s sentiments after his company took delivery of a pair of 8,000-ton Milacron C8000 IMMs.  

“In order to be competitive, we can’t be constrained. Milacron understands this about us and has always been willing to take it to the next level. The capacity of these two large-tonnage machines thrusts us into a unique niche of custom molders,” he said.  

Like Belli and Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) Inc., which in 2023 installed a pair of Engel 8,200-tonners at one of its subsidiaries, Infiltrator Water Technologies in Winchester, Ky., 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics can use its mammoth machines for variety of applications — including the manufacture of water reservoirs.  

While each of the Milacron machines has about 38 miles of wiring, it’s the machines’ shot weights of 325 pounds — about the heft of an NFL lineman — that truly open new possibilities.  

“We are seeing that the trend is for larger, heavier parts in general, but that it is becoming shot weight that is the determining factor over tonnage or platen size in many cases,” said Eric Hallstrom, business manager for low-pressure injection molding (LPIM) technologies at Milacron.  

In addition to underground enclosures, 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics, which performs LPIM as well as high-pressure gas-assisted and foam molding, also planned to use the machines to make commercial/institutional parts, as well as industrial and safety products.  

Meanwhile, Shibaura and Yizumi both spotlighted the automotive industry’s role in supporting the need for elephantine machines.  

“From time to time, Shibaura has companies looking for machines larger than 3,350 tons. Typically, these are automotive applications,” said Chuck Gorman, the company’s national sales manager and deputy GM for injection molding.  

In a video, Yizumi touted the installation of an 8,500-ton IMM for the industry three years ago at a molding plant in China.  

Rigging it up  

From the floor to the ceiling, manufacturing and moving big parts takes commitment. As Duval said, making them requires massive “investment in infrastructure."

Each of Evco biggest machines, at plants in Oshkosh, as well as Calhoun, Ga., took one month to assemble. The biggest — the 14-foot-tall Engel 4,400-tonner — weighs in at 523,800 pounds, with a footprint of 67 feet by 17.5 feet.  

Dimensions of Evco’s biggest parts exceed 6.5 feet by 6.5 feet. 

Being able to accommodate such a machine starts with a good foundation. According to Evco and statements from Shibaura, which will show off a series that includes a 3,350-ton, all-electric press at the K show, and Nissei, which offers machines up to 1,300 tons, the floor must be extra-thick and reinforced to handle weights comparable to having a Boeing 747 parked right in the plant.  

“All our large presses require 24-36 inch thick reinforced, isolated concrete pads. Some require J-bolts and grouting into the pad. This process effectively bolts the press to the pad to insure zero movement of the base,” Bartz said. 

Electrical supply is important, too. The 2,360-ton Haitian JU V 21000, for example, requires 505 amps of 480V/three-phase power, according to Lyle Sharratt, technical service manager for Absolute Haitian. 

Some of other important facility considerations include room for warehousing and storage for materials and products, according to Shibaura and Nissei.  

Moving molds is especially tricky. When it comes to that task, Sharratt said in an email manufacturers have a lot to consider:  

“Are there overhead cranes in the facility to do this? Or does the molder need a tie-bar puller to load and unload the molds? (If needed, this option should be considered BEFORE the machine is ordered). The tie-bar puller means that the molder will have to raise the mold just over the height of the machine bed rails rather than over the top tie bar. If using tow motors/forklifts to install molds, it will need to be rated to handle heavy weights because the molds will be large and heavy.”  

He also said manufacturers should consider if a robot can be mounted to the top machine rails.  

Pittsfield Plastics Engineering (PPE) LLC and Evco are two processors that have modified their spaces for their mammoth machines. PPE, for example, recently announced it paired a new 1,600-ton Jupiter 14000 from Absolute Haitian with installation of a new 10-ton overhead crane from Konecranes of Springfield, Ohio, to supplement its shop's 5-ton cranes for mold handling.  

Capable of handling shot sizes up to 22 pounds, the new machine is intended for the manufacture of 14-pound shrouds for a septic grinder pump, along with 28-inch-long electrical covers and canoe and kayak seats.  

For its 4,400-ton IMM, Evco still is working on all the amenities. New systems include multi-million-dollar Motan materials-handling systems at two plants, along with a new rigging system at one plant. Duval said workers are still learning how to operate the new rigging, “so they’re doing it in the safest manner possible.”  

“You’ve got to have cranes, you’ve got to have reinforced concrete. We have to have crews that are trained in cranes and rigging,” he said. “We have to have areas that we can split the molds apart, clean them up, deal with them. When you have molds, you’ve got to be able to put them on their side or turn them upside-down, to be able to service those.”  

Riding on a rail for an existing system, the new rigging will allow Evco to turn molds in the air. The company still is working to train its crews on the new equipment.  

If something goes wrong, what’s up in the air is more important than any mold or job order.  

“We don’t want you walking under a mold. We want you to be here tomorrow,” Duval said.  

Quick-mold-change systems also can lighten the burden of changing molds, Shibaura’s Gorman said.  

Heavy molds mean slower mold changes and less flexibility in scheduling jobs.  

“We have both magnetic platens on some presses and some without it,” Duval said. “Magnetic platens basically allow the mold to just stick right in the platen, and we can turn the magnets on and off. And we also do it the conventional way with clamps. So, the clamps and big presses, you’ve got to be able to lift this big chunk of steel up, put it on the side of the platen and then bolt it in. That’s where additional labor comes in.”  

Considering the volumes and weights of materials that Evco moves with the systems, safety and efficiency are paramount.  

The new materials-handling systems move materials quickly and efficiently. Duval praised Motan, a longtime supplier.  

“When we talk about the types of materials we’re moving through the lines, they’re very proactive. If you have materials with a lot of glass in them, you can wear out the elbows. ... They’re able to ask the right questions to make sure we get the right elbows in there. In this case, we’re putting glass elbows in, so it can handle that punishment from the materials,” Duval said. “They’ve got a good understanding of our business. They’re just a good partner.”  

According to Bartz, the company has one mold that consumes 250 tons of material per month. 

Overall, Evco employs about 2,000 people at plants in the U.S., Mexico and China. Of its 270 IMMs, 42 have clamping forces over 1,000 tons, and 30 top out at 1,500 tons or above, Bartz said. The company has 14 presses with clamping forces of 2,500 tons to 4,400 tons.  

Evco’s IMMs are from a mix of suppliers, including Ube Machinery, Van Dorn, Toyo and Husky. In addition to its new JSW machine, it also has big-tonnage machines from Engel.  

“All of our Engels are absolute workhorses and the backbone of our large-tonnage operations,” Bartz said. 

The big parts Evco runs often require screws specially designed to handle fillers, including glass and talc. Resins for the applications include PP, ABS, PC and nylons.  

“If it makes sense, we’ll run any material through our presses. We just may have to design some of the screws and barrels,” Duval said.  

Long shot times and huge shot sizes — at Evco, the biggest is over 80 pounds — bear their own challenges.  

For example, Duval noted, the amount of water needed to cool the molds is significant.  

“There’s times you’ve got to have accumulators on the press, or a specific shot size or cycle time that you’ve got to hit in order to be competitive,” he said.  

In some cases, shot times can exceed 1 minute.  

"Optimizing cooling and automation is key to profitability,” Gorman said.  

Training also is important. Over about the past decade or so, Duval said Evco has sent many of its employees through Beaumont Technologies’ American Injection Molding Institute, “so they understand polymer science, mold flow, runner systems, processing.”  

“If you’re going to pick up safety issues, like crane rigging, if you’re going to get familiar with the materials-handling system, so you understand how it flows through the facility, and then if you had the skills of somebody from Beaumont, you would do quite well on our shop floor on a big-tonnage press,” he said.  

Growing up  

Evco and OEMs reported mixed demand for big parts. 

While running big parts isn’t for everyone, Caprio has seen companies gradually push the envelope into bigger and bigger machines.  

“People do grow into businesses,” he said. “There is less competition on a 4,000-ton [machine] because less people can afford the equipment. But you don’t just jump in and become a bumper manufacturer, if you’re not in automotive.”  

But as trade concerns have dragged on for months, Duval and Bartz reported mixed demand for their wares.  

With prospective customers still hampered by economic worries, including high interest rates, Duval said, “The water sports and recreational things [have] declined some.”  

For some customers, choosing a U.S-based manufacturer might alleviate tariff concerns, but Evco hasn’t seen much of that type of movement.  

“Have we seen an influx in work because of the tariffs?” Bartz asked. “No, we’ve seen an influx in busy work, temperature-checking domestic prices versus outsourcing from China or whatever the country du jour is of the Trump administration. But it’s really been a lot of a big influx in quoting, more so than, ‘Here, let’s just transfer this to you from Asia.’” 

For companies looking to expand into bigger machines, David Sharp, division manager of injection molding machines for Wittmann, which offers IMMs up to 4,000 tons, offered this advice: Don’t go overboard. “Try and not size the equipment for ‘what ifs’ because you could end up making a machine that is too big for your needs.”  

But as LS Mtron has found, existing tote makers haven’t completely wrapped their arms around the business — opportunity is still out there.  

As it prepped a 3,500-ton and 2,500-ton machine for delivery, LS Mtron also was celebrating the sale of a third, smaller IMM to the same customer, which had returned from a tour of the OEM’s production setup energized by the partnership.  

Meanwhile, the OEM also was looking at the possibility of supplying a 2,000-ton machine where space already is tight.  

“They have no more footprint than the machinery that’s sitting there. We were actually at the customer this week with our R&D engineer who lives here in Chicago and tape measures out, and now we have to go back and work with our R&D team in Korea and say, ’Hey, this is the limitation. ... We’ve got to squeeze it into this.’ We’ll see if we can make that work,” Caprio said.  

For his company, at least, big parts still play a role. As he looked ahead to his company’s next goal — 20 percent North American market share —Caprio noted it’s not just the machines that are big. Business is growing by “leaps and bounds,” too.