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By Bill Bregar
SENIOR STAFF REPORTER
Published: August 16, 2013 2:29 pm ET
YORK, PA. — Graham Group has assembled a plastics machinery platform, and the three companies will exhibit together at K 2013 — blow molding press maker Graham Engineering Corp., sheet extrusion line builder Welex Inc and American Kuhne Inc., which makes single-screw extruders.
The three companies will be in Hall 14, Stand A54 at the K show to be held Oct. 16-23. in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Graham Engineering, an original company of the Graham Group in York, Pa., bought Americak Kuhne in the fall of 2012 and in mid-2013 acquired Welex. Graham is moving Welex manufacturing to York from Greenville, N.C.
Donald Graham, a packaging pioneer who founded both Graham Engineering and Graham Group, said the three companies will be able to work together on technology. One early example: American Kuhne is using die-centering technology originally developed and patented by Graham Engineering for parison sidewall development, for small medical tubing. American Kuhne is using use the technology to do closed-loop control of tubing wall thickness concentricity.
American Kuhne ran a live demonstration of the closed-loop concentricity control at MD&M East medical-device trade show in Philadelphia in June.
"Together, GEC, AK and Welex create a convergence of leading technologies, people and capabilities in extrusion," Donald Graham said in a prepared statement. "We are excited about the multiple points of synergy for the markets we serve and look forward to adding further technologies, businesses and talent to our platform."
At K 2013, Graham Engineering will show innovations to its wheel machine that gives flexibility and configurability to allow a range of package shapes and sized on a single platform.
American Kuhne will present extruder technologies for energy savings, quick changeover and confirability.
Welex will show its Converge CTS dryerless sheet line, a conical, twin-screw extruder for dryerless sheet from PET and polyactic acid. | |
