Netstal’s alignment with specific user industries was further developed in 2009. By creating four so-called business units, teams of sales specialists, application engineers and project managers were created in order to respond more quickly and efficiently to changing customer needs. This organisational form, which has already been implemented successfully for years in the PET area, has now been extended to include packaging products, closures, medical products and high-precision technical parts. The establishment of these teams enables much more efficient customer support and consultation throughout the world.    


Core business: Products with maximum customer benefit

Netstal’s SynErgy range for single- and multi-component applications with clamping forces ranging from 600 to 8000 kN and the all-electric ELION range with clamping forces ranging from 500 to 1750 kN are two first-class and very successful product ranges in the core business area. The ELION range has since become established on the market for all-electric machines as the benchmark for comparable competitor products. In 2009, the production launch of the EVOS range with hybrid drive technology in the clamping force range from 3000 to 5500 kN further consolidated core business with products offering maximum customer benefit.

PET-LINE: Number of sold systems increased

Despite the economic crisis, activities in the PET business area continued to develop positively in the last financial year. The number of systems supplied again increased in comparison with what was also a very good year last year. The intelligent conception of the PET-LINE range proved a competitive advantage. With the flexible platform strategy, Netstal succeeded in applying an increasing number of cavities on comparatively smaller system sizes. For the first time at the Drinktec trade fair in Munich in September 2009, Netstal presented a tool with 60 cavities on a PET-LINE 2000 and thus demonstrated a further increase in productivity and the cost-effectiveness of the production system.

Energy-saving as permanent objective


In 2009, Netstal again set itself the target of consistent and continuous reduction of the energy consumption for all ranges and production systems. Thanks to an optimum parameter layout and the recovery of the brake energy, an ELION consumes up to 70% less energy than an injection-moulding machine with hydraulic drive technology. With the PET-LINE production systems, the entire production process from material drying to preform cooling was analysed in detail. Specific measures were then introduced to significantly reduce both energy consumption and operating costs.