German machinery maker KraussMaffei is reinforcing its system expertise for reaction process machinery in the area of interior trim and has plans to work together with 3CON Anlagenbau as a partner in the future. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Ebbs, Austria. Today it ranks among the world's leading providers of laminating, edgefolding and thermoforming technologies for the automotive industry and its suppliers.

In the area of interior trim, KraussMaffei's reaction process machinery implements production systems for foamed or back-foamed parts for vehicle manufacturing with surfaces with high aesthetic quality. This includes parts such as instrument panels, door coverings, door panels and window trim. KraussMaffei provides customised system solutions from a single source, starting with the moulds, including the mixing and metering systems, and spanning all the way to equipment for cutting and punching finished components.

Through the partnership with 3CON, KraussMaffei is now expanding its system expertise. Nicolas Beyl, President of the Reaction Process Machinery segment of the KraussMaffei Group, explains, "3CON is a value partner to have at our side; together with them, we can also offer our customers technologies for laminating, edgefolding and thermoforming."

Hannes Auer, Founder/CEO of 3CON, adds, "We are very glad to have KraussMaffei, a company with global standing, at our side." In the future, the two companies hope to have close domestic and international cooperation in sales and project engineering.

3CON Group now employs approximately 200 people at its headquarters in Ebbs/Kufstein, Austria, and supports sales and service centers throughout the world. The product portfolio includes press and vacuum laminating, edgefolding, four different joining and riveting technologies, punching in connection with other technologies, assembly lines with anti-creak and clip applications as well as hot-air cutting. The company also has an array of proprietary developments and worldwide patents. Some examples include the new vacuum-laminating system for shorter cycle times and material savings as well as the ESL process (Exact Shape Laminating), which was developed in-house. This low-tension laminating process with low extraction levels enables material savings of up to 50%. In the area of edgefolding, 3CON provides link-guided edgefolding pushers and a new infrared heater for reduced cycle times. Servo-driven units make it possible to fold parts with highly complex geometry.