St. Valentine – Engel supplies America with two giants

Injection molding machine manufacturer Engel has set a new record with the delivery of two injection molding machines to the United States. With a clamping force of 8,000 tons each, they are the largest machines ever built at the St. Valentine plant. Two machines, 29.3 meters long and 6.4 meters wide, were commissioned at Infiltrator Water Technologies’ (IWT) Winchester, Kentucky facility. A subsidiary of Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) manufactures water management products there.

Although the St. Valentine plant was used to build larger engines, the two 8,000 ton engines were a very special challenge. “I am honored to have worked on this project,” said Jim Moran, business development manager for Engel North America. . “If only you could imagine everything that was required to transport machines from Austria to America. For example, the panels were transported on boats on the Danube,” Moran says, describing one of the hurdles that had to be overcome. ,” Moran adds.

Distribution took place in 29 trucks

Intruder invested in building a new hall to accommodate the much larger machines. Engine parts were delivered in 29 truckloads from Austria. The first machine was installed in two months and the building, infrastructure and perimeter were completed simultaneously. There was a 135 ton overhead crane for moving the equipment in and out, which was also used to set up the machine.

“The dedication of Engel employees is incredible,” said David Getridis, director of production capital implementation at Infiltrator. “Long work days and weekend work made it possible to complete the installation quickly.” From initial idea to completion, the project involved close teamwork across company boundaries. “We chose to work with Engel again because we have a long-standing relationship and previous projects have been completed on time and under budget,” said Ron Brochu, Infiltrator’s Vice President of Manufacturing. “Production cells have been running smoothly with high availability and productivity since becoming operational.”

The first machine was delivered exactly one year ago

Engel received the order in November 2020. The first machine was delivered in February 2022. Now, a year later, a second, identical engine has been delivered. Engel prides itself on long-term partnerships with clients such as Infiltrator and ADS. “A project like this is always challenging. The scale of the machines, the level of innovation and the scale of investment naturally increase the risk in such a project. We’re excited to see what we’ve done together,” said Vanessa Malena, president of Engel North America.