BEKUM ACQUIRES THE LFT-PULTRUSION BUSINESS UNIT

Bekum acquires the LFT-Pultrusion Business Unit for Long-Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics of ProTec Promising investment in the pultrusion business unit for long-fiber reinforced thermoplastics (LFT)

[Berlin, 28.04.2023] Bekum Maschinenfabriken GmbH, Berlin has acquired the pultrusion business unit of ProTec Polymer Processing GmbH (ProTec) effective 01.04.2023. Bekum is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of extrusion blow moulding machines with locations in Germany, Austria and the USA and stands for quality, energy-saving and flexible technologies and worldwide service. With this diversification, Bekum is investing in a promising future market for fiber-reinforced plastics and is setting the course for further growth. Bekum Services GmbH, located in D-64625 Bensheim, was established for the new business division. The company was able to retain both the previous technical managing director of ProTec as well as experienced and leading employees from the areas of design, sales and service from ProTec., which was in insolvency. The assembly of new pultrusion lines is integrated at the Bekum site in Traismauer, Austria. In addition, Bekum Maschinenfabriken GmbH, Berlin also acquires ProTec Polymer Processing Shanghai, which in recent years, has successfully sold LFT systems to the Chinese market.  The Shanghai site will continue to further expand sales and local service in China and Asian countries.

Pultrusion, also known as strand drawing, is a highly efficient process for the production of long-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics in granulate form, which promises exciting applications in the manufacture of lightweight components in the automotive and electromobility sectors.

Bekum will offer complete production lines in the sizes 8-strand LFT lab line, 32-strand LFT production line and 64-strand LFT production line.

In addition to the new LFT machine business, Bekum will also continue the service business for the existing lines in the market with maintenance & repair, spare parts, installation and commissioning worldwide.

In the future, Bekum will also develop the LFT lines for applications in the areas of UD tapes and continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic profiles.

For enquiries, please contact Mr. Theobald, Head of Sales & Technology, at [email protected].

About Bekum 
Pioneer and Trendsetter in Blow Moulding Technology
Founded in Berlin in 1959, Bekum Maschinenfabriken GmbH is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of extrusion blow moulding machines. Founder Gottfried Mehnert conceived the name Bekum as the acronym (Berliner Kunststoff Maschinen).

The company began to flourish in its founding year with the development of the world’s first neck-rim calibration. Numerous innovations and patents followed, confirming that Bekum, with its innovative and customer-oriented machinery solutions, has always been ahead of its time – and remains so to this day.

When innovative and economical machinery solutions with high productivity for individual packaging requirements of hollow packaging are in demand, then Bekum, with 60 years of experience in blow-moulding technology, is the first choice worldwide.

Product Range and Applications in Food and Non-food
With future-oriented and reliable production processes and fully electric, as well as hydraulic machinery for the commercial production of blow moulded containers ranging from 5 ml to 3000 l, Bekum offers everything for plastic packaging from one source.

Philosophy of the Company
Building and maintaining long-term relationships with market partners through future-oriented, predictable company policy determine the actions of the first and second generation of the family, represented by Michael Mehnert. This strategy ensures the jobs of dedicated and experienced staff. The preservation of traditional structures, an established network of partners and far-sighted adaptation to change form the basis for continuous development and inspiration for the company in the interest of partners, customers and employees.

Innovation and Technology
Process reliability, availability, efficiency and sophisticated design characterize the high standard of Bekum production lines for blow moulding. Bekum contributes the expertise that has grown based on these references, associated with various patents in blow moulding, to the fulfilment of every customer requirement.

The level of process design is key for process reliability, reproducibility, parts quality and cost efficiency. A high-quality production line for extrusion blow moulding, consisting of machine, die and automation which is impressive in terms of speed, wear resistance, availability, process reliability and stability alike, is critical for return on investment (ROI) and the level of added value.

Facts and figures
With 18,000 machines delivered and installed worldwide – about half of them still in use – the Bekum Group has achieved by far the largest production of blow moulding machines of any brand.

The Bekum Group serves approximately 100 countries around the world directly or through representatives.

Today, 350 employees work for the Bekum group worldwide at three locations in Europe and in the US (Berlin (Germany), Traismauer (Austria) und Williamston (USA).

Benchmark for Blow Moulding Machines