An Open Day at Krauss-Maffei Automation AG provided an opportunity to simultaneously celebrate two milestones in the company's history: The 30th anniversary of the company founded by Josef Neureder in Schwaig/Oberding in 1982 and the supply of the 1000th robot from the "robot wharf" of the branch in Schwerin.The large number of visitors at the Open Day clearly demonstrated the strong roots of the automation business segment of KraussMaffei in Schwaig/Oberding. Over 1,000 visitors celebrated the company's 30th anniversary together with the employees and were able to gain an impression of the efficiency and wide range of applications of the automation solutions by means of superb exhibits of linear and industrial robots.
"The reception and appreciation which I saw among customers, partners, employees and the numerous guests from the region made me extremely happy and proud", said Josef Neureder, Chairman of the Board of Management of Krauss-Maffei Automation AG. The company has expanded continuously over the last thirty years. It now has a total workforce of around 180 employees, of whom 10 are apprentices, at the main plant in Schwaig and the branches in Munich and Schwerin. The company has been a subsidiary of the KraussMaffei Group since 2002 and specializes in the development and manufacture of linear and industrial robots which simplify and speed up the production process in the plastics mechanical engineering sector, thus making it more efficient.
The company's regular customers include renowned international firms from the industrial segments automotive, electrical engineering, medical technology, white goods and packaging. According to Thomas Marufke, Sales and Commercial Manager, the company's strategy has been conclusively confirmed by the fact that it was necessary to continually increase the workforce and production area in the last three decades in order to cope with the demand for automation solutions in the industry: “As a mechanical engineering specialist, we are very successful thanks to our flexible size and the know-how of our skilled workers.
We supply customers both with standard products and customized, highly complex automation solutions. We will also continue this successful concept in future and market our products even more extensively throughout the world“, said Marufke. The most recent expansion took place just six months ago: The size of the production hall in Schwaig was more than doubled to an assembly area of around 1,700 square meters. The newly created capacities are already being fully utilized again.
Krauss-Maffei Automation AG had another reason to celebrate since the 1000th robot was supplied from the branch plant in Schwerin last week right on time for the company's 30th anniversary. The LRX-S 350 linear robot has a payload of 35 kg and will be installed in future at a customer in the USA on a KraussMaffei CX 350-3000 injection molding machine. The plant in Schwerin was established in 2000 and started to produce robots in 2001. 22 employees now produce large linear robot devices in the LRX/LRX-S 250 to 1000 series with a payload of between 25 and 100 kg, as well as side entry robots.
In addition to standard "pick-and-place“ applications, these robots are used with complex technologies. They include, for example, different insert molding technologies with metal parts such as contacts, rings, bushings and plugs. However, the product portfolio also includes complete solutions for demolding injection molded parts and for separating, sorting or packing product units (for example a cutlery set comprising a knife, fork, spoon and serviette).
