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There are several trends and developments that have been impacting the industry over the last few years and which will continue to have a bigger impact in 2024. Roger Bitterlin, Sales Director Southeast Asia and Oceania of ENGEL, considers energy costs as a main concern: “In Southeast Asia (SEA), as in the rest of the world we see an increase in energy costs with the conflicts going on around the world this would continue to be a prominent issue. As a result, manufacturers are placing even more importance on energy saving solutions without sacrificing quality for their productions.”
Additionally, in hand with this, consumers and governments around the region are also placing more demand on sustainable production. “We have seen several governments in SEA implementing more policies towards Circular Economy and sustainability topics, such as the Thai government’s Bio-Circular-Green Economy (BCG) model strategy for national development or the Vietnamese government’s revision of the Law on Environmental Protection to help shift the country from a linear economy to a circular economy,” according to Mr. Bitterlin.
As production in SEA moves towards Industry 4.0, digitalisation and smart factories, Mr. Bitterlin expects also an increase in the Big Data and data analysis for a more efficient production. “Additionally, we have seen an increase in demand for automated solutions which reduces working steps and makes production more economical,” he adds.
The impact from COVID-19 is still seen in the movement of production sites out of China to SEA with this, manufacturers in the region can become more competitive with sustainable production solutions and reduction of waste.
ENGEL as a company has always placed great importance in innovation, and this is reflected in the annual budget for R&D of over 70 million Euros. As Mr. Bitterlin explains: “True to our motto ‘be the first’, we help our customers to be pioneers. With them, we set new standards in plastics processing - in injection molding machines, automation solutions, technologies and digital solutions.”
Sustainability is a fundamental pillar of entrepreneurial activity for ENGEL, and it has been developing solutions for sustainable plastics processing for over 15 years. “Our commitment to sustainability is reflected in our platinum award by EcoVadis placing us among the top 1% of world’s most sustainable companies,” according to Mr. Bitterlin.
Not only is ENGEL sustainable in-house, it also places importance in optimising the injection moulding process for energy efficient recycling and production. Through its digital solutions and assistance systems, such as the iQ weight control, ENGEL can increase process stability and reduce waste in production. “We have technologies which allows manufacturers to use more recycled material with great results and we have new machine concepts, the 2-stage process, which shortens the recycling chain by allowing producers to directly use regrind material for plasticizing, saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions in turn,” Mr. Bitterlin explains.
In the SEA region where there can be a large variation in ambient conditions in factories, ENGEL digital solutions can aid in increasing stability and the usage of appropriate parameters which can both reduce scrap rates and energy costs. With digital solutions in the injection moulding manufacturing process, manufacturers can detect and compensate for deviations in the production process and thus minimise scrap. ENGEL digital products such as iQ weight control and iQ process observer support producers in this. A stable production reduces machine downtime which allows manufacturers to use the full potential of their injection molding machine and save time and costs.
By networking the injection moulding machines, manufacturers can exchange information directly with software systems. Process data is digitally recorded and collected in real time. Through manufacture and process monitoring, production performance can be improved. Digital solutions such as the ENGEL iQ process observer, ENGEL simlink and the ENGEL e-connect portal and ENGEL authenTIG (manufacturing execution system) facilitates this.
For 2024, ENGEL is set to highlight these solutions. “In addition, we would like to highlight our ENGEL e-mac a flexible all-electric machine for standard applications which makes it especially suitable for a wide variety of producers. We have made our e-mac series even more compact, allowing producers to optimally utilize their production floor space. They will also benefit from the unbeatable advantages of an all-electric injection molding machine by ENGEL which ensures consistently high quality of the parts you produce. Moreover, the outstanding energy efficiency saves users money in terms of production costs,” according to Mr. Bitterlin.
ENGEL currently has a wide-reaching presence in the region with subsidiaries in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and a representative office in Indonesia – in terms of serving its customers, it has both sales and service located in 6 countries in SEA. As Mr. Bitterlin stressed, the ENGEL Thailand office serves as a training centre for both customers and its internal staff. Customers can also use the facility for mould trials with the ENGEL machines and automation available there.
