Kautex is also breaking new ground in the presentation of its production solutions at K: Trade show visitors can experience the company's production solutions via various innovative virtual reality, augmented reality and live-stream formats - live at the booth or remotely from anywhere in the world.

With this trade show appearance, Kautex confirms the change to its consistent "final plastic product focus" philosophy. It is no longer the producing solution but the high-quality sustainably produced plastic product that is the focus of the booth. "We are aware that we are taking a completely different approach at K 2022," says CTO Paulo Gomes. "However, this fits perfectly with our new vision, mission, and corporate philosophy - because this represents Kautex today best. The customer's high-quality end product is the focus of our actions. The trade show booth reflects this perfectly. In this way, we show how we create leading change and added value. With our trade show motto "Experience the Difference" we clearly emphasize this and invite everybody to experience the new Kautex on-site or remotely."

Six core areas for one goal - Highest quality of the final plastic product

At Kautex, the Technical Center stands for more than sampling and development projects. Good quality plastic products ideally start at the very beginning, with prototyping. The Kautex Technical Center helps validate a design before the system is built. This is sustainable and saves time. Resources are used carefully and production can start sooner. A mix of advanced simulation tools, decades of experience in plastics processing, and in-house mold making also contribute to an optimal result for the customer.

A core element for achieving the highest quality of plastic products has been, from the very beginning, the melt management system at Kautex Maschinenbau. Top class plastic products can only be produced from the best possible melt quality. A comprehensive understanding of the rheological behavior of different plastics enables the production of containers with optimum weight and best fitting mechanical properties, a term Kautex calls “right weighting”. In addition, lower melt temperatures can increase output and faster changeover times can further improve efficiency.

Often, different production solutions can lead to the goal. But which is the best - from a technical and economic point of view? At Kautex, the focus is always on the final plastic product. The decision for the optimal production system starts with prototyping, followed by improvement and validation of the product design. In this way, the customer receives a production solution that is designed for their product, with the greatest possible added value in terms of article weight, best quality, and highest efficiency.

The production of an excellent blow molded product also includes optimized upstream and downstream automation solutions. Together with strategic partners (BeOne), Kautex develops solutions for the best possible product quality and highest output.

When the blow-molded final plastic product is in the foreground, Kautex Maschinenbau's own mold-making also plays an important role. For selected applications, customers receive the blow molds and prototypes for their product from a single source. This also allows lead times to be significantly reduced.

Kautex Maschinenbau's portfolio is rounded off by an innovative range of services. Thus, customers are supported in various ways from servicing of their machines to training of their employees. High global availability of important parts, fast global on-site service, and a variety of different training options enable customers to increase the uptime of their machines and product quality. Since Kautex blow molding machines are known to run for a long time, Kautex offers excellent retrofit services for older machines. This includes retrofitting or upgrading entire machines or individual units to the latest technology. This makes it easy to keep up with today's requirements.

Innovative and sustainable - virtual presentation of production solutions and live streams

Production solutions such as the innovative Skyreef platform can be discovered by visitors to the Kautex booth via various digital solutions. With innovative augmented reality and virtual reality apps, Kautex provides direct access to all machines. In addition, Kautex will broadcast five live streams daily from Bonn, Germany and Shunde, China, and stream interactive panel discussions directly from the booth.

Visitors who are unable to travel to the show can experience the booth, the production solutions and the streams via the website https://www.k-sphere.com/en/events/trade-fair/k-2022.html - regardless of time and place. The applications can also be used flexibly after the trade show.

For Kautex, this is a consistent step toward a more sustainable trade show presence, in order to reach trade show visitors in the best possible way and to make optimal use of resources even after the show.

Sustainability has always been an important part of the corporate DNA for Kautex Maschinenbau. Especially in view of future global challenges, however, the topic is taking on an increasingly central role.

"Sustainability is not a hygiene factor for us," emphasizes Thomas Hartkämper, CEO and CSO. "On the contrary. For us, sustainable production processes and a consistent circular economy are crucial success factors in our industry. It is our firm belief that our customers have the best future prospects when they use innovative Kautex technologies to manufacture products of highest quality that are also sustainable. This also strengthens our own position as an innovation driver in the international plastics market. We see the key to our innovative strength in the exchange with our customers and partners."

Vision and mission - goal and path

In its sustainability vision, Kautex Maschinenbau sets itself the goal of providing its customers with the best possible support in making their products better and more sustainable. The way to achieve this - the mission - is defined by the company as actively driving the establishment of the circular economy, always in line with the corporate mission, which states creating leading change and added value.

Further, Kautex clusters the topic of sustainability into four sub-areas based on the vision and mission: Environmental Sustainability, Individual Sustainability, Economical Sustainability and Social Sustainability. Specific projects and initiatives are assigned to each of these sub-areas and will be presented at the booth.

Sustainability implemented in an exemplary manner

One project in which Kautex is actively involved in establishing the circular economy is R-Cycle. With the help of a digital product passport, recycling-relevant information is already recorded during the production of a plastic product and stored in the R-Cycle database. During recycling, this data can in turn be read out for optimal reuse. The pilot projects that Kautex has undertaken as part of the R-Cycle initiative can be seen at the Kautex booth and in the R-Cycle pavilion.

Furthermore, Kautex will present projects in various cooperations at the booth - with Braskem and with a partnership of PreZero, Erema and Baerlocher. In each case, it was successfully demonstrated that upcycling of post-consumer waste (PCR) with appropriate measures leads to ever better results. The compounds used were successfully processed at the Kautex Technical Center into monolayer blow molded products. Braskem's material was used to make a children's watering can, which will be given out as a giveaway at the booth.

Not just built for the trade show

But the topic of sustainability is not only presented by Kautex in its vision, mission or the projects presented. It is also clearly recognizable in the design of the trade show booth.

Visitors can discover production solutions such as the innovative Skyreef platform via various digital solutions. With innovative augmented reality and virtual reality apps, Kautex enables direct access to all production solutions. In addition, the company broadcasts five livestreams daily from Bonn, Germany and Shunde, China and streams interactive panel discussions directly from the booth. Visitors who are unable to travel to the trade show thus have the opportunity to experience the trade show booth, the production solutions and the streams via the website https://www.k-sphere.com/en/events/trade-fair/k-2022.html - regardless of time and place.

Thanks to the digital solutions and streams, the content also remains available on the website after the trade show and can be used flexibly. For Kautex, this is a consistent step towards a more sustainable trade show presence, in order to reach trade show visitors during the event in the best possible way and to make optimal use of the resources deployed even after the event.

Used plastic is not waste but has value. Against this background, Kautex Maschinenbau is presenting different projects in cooperation with renowned partners at K, the world's most important trade show for the plastics and rubber industry. Here it is clearly demonstrated that upcycling of post-consumer waste (PCR) with appropriate measures lead to ever better results and that the compounds used can be successfully processed into monolayer blow molded products. Kautex identified a children's watering can as an example application for the highlighted project. This is available as a giveaway at the Kautex booth A16/18 in hall 14.

Old fishing nets get a second life

In the first exemplary project, Kautex worked together with Braskem, the largest polyolefin producer in the Americas. In cooperation with a company specialized in mechanically recycling plastic fibre waste into PCR, the Brazilian company produces a secondary PE compound from collected fishing nets. Kautex then further processed this into children's watering cans using the blow molding process.

It should be emphasized that the quality of the fishing net PCR was so good, for example in terms of consistent viscosity, that the cans could be produced in a continuous blow molding process without the use of an accumulator head. The project also showed that so-called "maritime waste" recyclates are ideally suited for applications in the garden sector, including playground equipment, garden furniture, and tool sheds.

Upcycling of HDPE

In a second project, further in-house tests at Kautex Technical Center in Bonn were carried out. Here, sorted HDPE PCR from for example milk packaging and shampoo bottles was upgraded in a sophisticated upcycling process.

The PCR material came from PreZero, an international environmental services provider active in waste and recycling management. PreZero is the environmental division of the Neckarsulm-based Schwarz Group, which also owns the retail companies Kaufland and Lidl.

In this joint project, the Austrian recycling machine manufacturer Erema has taken on further processing of the secondary material, including special degassing steps and the use of additives to further improve the material quality. These were contributed by Baerlocher, a global acting additive company.

Sustainability put into practice

“At this year's K, we are introducing our sustainability vision and mission,” said Kautex Sustainability Manager Huafeng Zhao. “In it, we make it clear that we want to make our customers' plastic products more sustainable for future generations and actively promote the transition of the plastics industry toward a circular economy. The use of PCR plays a crucial role in this. We are all the more pleased that, in collaboration with Braskem on the watering cans and in a second in-house test with PreZero, Baerlocher and Erema, we have been able to take specific practical steps here."

Andreas Menzlin, Head of Technical Center, also emphasizes the fact that the production of the watering can with Braskem material could be realized completely in-house: "The small watering can is 100 percent made by Kautex. From the design of the product by our colleagues in Portugal to the construction of the mold at our plant in Shunde, China, to the production at our Technical Center in Bonn, all process steps were carried out in-house. Thus, the production of the watering can is not only an excellent example of sustainability put into practice but also of our BeOne corporate culture."