Record number of visitors at Kurtz Ersa in-house fair!

Kreuzwertheim/Germany, November 21, 2017

Planned well in advance, the two-day Kurtz Ersa in-house fair for the Moulding Machines business unit saw an absolute record number of visitors. With 500 people registered for the first day alone, the programme of lectures, vivid live demonstrations in the machine factory and the general programme of events really hit the mark in terms of visitor interest. On 16 and 17 November Kurtz Ersa presented innovative highlights from the fields of particle foam machines and foundry machines for guests from at home and abroad, and illustrated ways of linking the individual systems intelligently to one another in this era of digital networking. Lectures on both subject fields started every hour between 10:30 am and 3:30 pm on the first day, and provided the theoretical base for the exhibits in the machine factory. These included the new shape moulding machines Kurtz Ersa THERMO FOAMER with THERMO SELECT process for foaming thermoplastic composite parts. The innovative THERMO FOAMER combines classic injection moulding with a new foaming process. Alongside lectures by internal employees, several Kurtz Ersa business partners, as is tradition, had come along not only as guests but also to contribute to the success of the in-house fair in the form of lectures about professional engineering and project management as important factors of success for foundry projects, for example.

The lectures were very well received, most of them were packed to the door and illustrated how manufacturing can be made more efficient and productive worldwide. Adidas, for example, provided a glimpse into the future of the sports industry with innovations and trends, BASF talked about eco-based and biodegradable particle foams, BMW took the audience on a journey to innovative casting concepts for crankcases made of alloy material and August Mössner GmbH presented a flexible finishing line for chassis parts. There was still time between the individual lectures for chats with the experts, from 12:30 pm all participants were invited to help themselves at the barbecue buffet. In the afternoon, groups of visitors gathered at regular intervals round the machines to experience live demonstrations, virtual reality applications and new service options close up – in terms of particle foam machines this included the revolutionary BLOCK FOAMER, for example, which has a self-regulating process control to guarantee optimum product blocks in EPS block production, the BOX FOAMER, whose new tool technology achieves cycle times and energy saving that seemed impossible up to now, or the Kurtz Ersa B-JET blue filling injectors with i-CAP for a safe, fast filling process as well as automatic indication of maintenance jobs. The foundry machines sector presented their furnace shuttle system for large-scale series using the example of the AL 18-16 FSC. With Kurtz Ersa furnace and shuttle technology (furnace size up to 3,000 kg), top melt quality is achieved and can be cast with low turbulence using a pressure controller and the tried-and-trusted Kurtz Ersa gravity die casting method, leading to best mechanical properties and significantly reduced cycle times. Highlights of the foundry machines were the innovation casting machines and trimming presses that were presented for the first time. Visitors were amazed at the demonstrations of the intelligent machine controller, the toolless quick-changing system for trimming tools and dies including media coupling system and maximum energy efficiency thanks to speed-controlled motor-pump drives. The innovation press also had up to 30 percent faster travel speeds to offer, which had visitors fascinated.

The end of the lectures was by no means the end of the event – after a short break, the legendary Kurtz Ersa Treppenhausparty (“Stairwell Party”) began at 7 pm, with musical entertainment provided by the “Kleine Salonorchester” (“Small Salon Orchestra”) and a range of delicious food on offer. After changing to a smaller line-up with tuba, cajon, guitar and accordion, the four-piece band even managed to fit into the lift and took the music up to the higher floors. On Friday morning, the focus was back on engineering topics, lectures missed first time round could be visited. The lunch break was accompanied by music from the Group’s own Hammerchor (“Hammer Choir”), in the afternoon customers were invited to an optional tour of Wertheim including the castle. “We are very pleased with the fantastic reception given to the 2017 in-house fair by our customers and the positive feedback on the event. There was an enormous effort involved in giving our business partners a hands-on demonstration of the broad performance spectrum of Moulding Machines at Kurtz Ersa with regard to digital networking in the form of future-oriented and competitive solutions. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun as well! In the name of the Management Board I would like to thank all customers, partners and employees who contributed to the success of the Kurtz Ersa in-house fair,” said Kurtz Managing Director Uwe Rothaug.