Extrusion International 2-2023

21 Extrusion International 2/2023 Reorganization  AZO Global Product Center GmbH & Co. KG is op- erational as a new company of the AZO Group since January 01, 2023. "A consistently future-proof setup - that is our goal," is the clear message from Rainer Zimmermann, CEO and owner of the family company AZO. The specialist for au - tomation solutions has its headquarters in Osterburken, Germany and is now managed by the second family generation. After a longer planning phase caused by the multi-crises, the company sees itself confirmed in this goal: "The distribution of risks and the orientation towards the needs of our customers guide us in this phase of reorganization. We want to be a resilient and reliable partner worldwide"   The first step in this direction has been taken with the establishment of the AZO Global Product Center. The new company is where the products that AZO sells world - wide are created – from the first draft to the detailed cus- tomer-specific adaptation design and production to doc- umentation. In this way, AZO focuses on entrepreneurial responsibility and market orientation. AZO's solutions are in demand in more than 60 industries – the specific know-how of the rawmaterial experts is the great asset. The newly established AZO Global Product Center has around 240 employees. It is important for the company to emphasize: "For our customers, we will still be avail- able as a reliable and safe partner in the usual way."  AZO Global Product Center GmbH & Co. KG is led by Hartmut Eckert – a "home-grown" of AZO. After his education and numerous further training courses as a technical business economist, business economist and REFA engineer, he became a member of the Executive Board in 2018.   AZO's CEO, Rainer Zimmermann, is also Managing Di- rector of the new company. AZO GmbH + Co. KG www.azo.com CEO Rainer Zimmermann (left) and Managing Director Hartmut Eckert Continued Investments in Production Capabilities Announced  2 state-of-the-art production lines have been pur- chased from SML for delivery into North America in the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2023. One is to be installed in a new wing of Sigma’s Belleville, Ontario plant and the other will replace a legacy line in Tulsa Oklahoma. Both lines will significantly increase capacity at their respec- tive locations. These investments follow on from similar ones for Sigma’s Riverside, California and Shelbyville, Kentucky plants and underline the group’s commitment to ensuring secure supplies for its customers. The new North American lines will produce the latest generation, 9-layer films and have been configured for maximum flexibility so allowing rapid product changes to meet local demands. The Sigma group also continues to invest outside the North American market. Sigma Plastics Asia in Thailand, established in 2019 marked the group’s expansion into the southeast Asia market. Following the success of this venture, the group has now moved into the European market with the formation of Sigma Stretch Film of Eu- rope based in Poland. The new European business builds on the recently ac - quired Marflex plant which already ran SML machines. Shortly after the acquisition, Sigma announced pur- chase of another stretch film line to boost site capacity. As with the two North American production lines, this is the latest generation, 9-layer machine from SML and is set to be delivered from Austria in quarter 3 of 2023. Further capacity increases are planned for both Po - land and Thailand with a new line for Poland anticipat - ed for 1st quarter 2024. SML Maschinengesellschaft mbH www.sml.at