Freudenberg Sealing Technologies and NOK-Freudenberg China proved they were masters of global cooperation during a hybrid TechDay held in China for KraussMaffei.
Train enthusiasts and others smitten with railway nostalgia tend to associate the manufacturer KraussMaffei with gasping steam locomotives and their powerful diesel and electric-powered cousins, not to mention high-speed trains such as Germany’s Intercity Express (ICE) and its Transrapid. The defense sector comes to mind as well. But these technologies are only the historic roots of the KraussMaffei Group and have nothing to do with the company today.
Munich-based KraussMaffei is now solely involved with machine-building. The former railroad pioneer says it is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of machines and installations for the production and processing of rubber and plastics. The company has more than 5,000 employees working in machine-building worldwide. Its array of products and services is mainly devoted to stateof-the-art injection-molding and extrusion technologies.
High technology
These advanced technologies require hightech seals, in Europe as well as the United States and China. This makes it essential for Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) to have a global key account strategy and customer support worldwide. This was confirmed at a TechDay at Taicang NOK-Freudenberg Sealing Products (TNF) last year.
For several years, KraussMaffei has been owned by a consortium of the Chinese state-owned firm, ChemChina and the Chinese-sovereign, wealth fund, Guoxin International. “The new owners have given the company a new perspective and have taken it into calmer waters,” said Klaus Häusler, who has supported KraussMaffei as account manager in Sales General Industry (GI) for years. For instance, brand-new plants have been built in Germany and China since the acquisition.
“We have more than tripled our sales to KraussMaffei in China in just one year,” said Dimitrios Tsituridis, Segment Manager in General Industry’s Industrial Machines and Robotics segment. The growth rate is in the double-digit range in Europe. Tsituridis spelled out the customer’s importance to FST: “In our forming-machines business, KraussMaffei is one of our top three customers worldwide. In China, in terms of sales in this business sector, it is now number one,” he said.
The Lead Center Heavy Industry in Hamburg is FST’s main supplier of hydraulic sealing systems to KraussMaffei. Applications engineer Dongbing Ni joined Tsituridis and Häusler at the hybrid event in Taicang, connecting virtually from Hamburg. He presented technical requirements for sealing systems and FST’s expertise in products, materials, consulting and services. He was even able to communicate to KraussMaffei engineers, purchasing staff and decision-makers in their own language.
Many of the Freudenberg seals are installed on the so-called pressure pads in the closing area of injection-molding machines. To put it simply, the pressure pads ensure that the mold stays tightly shut when under pressure during the injection. Both PTFE and polyurethane are used as sealing materials in KraussMaffei machines.
Event a complete success
On the Chinese side – meaning NOK-Freudenberg China (NFC) and TNF – employees from engineering and sales departments fielded questions from guests. They provided attendees with all kinds of practical insights, in part during a tour of the Taicang plant.
“We demonstrated to the customer that everyone at our company works together,” Häusler summed up. Cai Jiening, Segment Group Sales Manager in China, called the TechDay an excellent event. “Based on the feedback from our customers, the session was a total success,” he added. “We showed how deep and efficient our international cooperation is.”
Tsituridis had a similar message: “Our global key account strategy worked superbly with KraussMaffei. We don’t look at the customer through a national lens. Instead, we develop an edge by working and sharing information across continents proactively, even before the customer makes a specific request. The TechDay laid the foundation for increased cooperation with KraussMaffei in China.” For business success in that country, the ability to supply customers flexibly with local production is important. So is the ability to offer consulting and other services locally.
