Author: Waldemar Schmitke
The privately run company, Bekum, headquarters in Berlin, Germany, ranks among the pioneers in the blow moulding machines market. Items that have been developed and constructed since the company set up in 1959 include extrusion blow moulding machines for the dairy, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, automotive, chemicals and packaging industries. At the K fair I met the new CEO at the Bekum Maschinenfabriken, Andreas Kandt, who held various leading functions at Bekum from 1982 to 1995. In his current position the task is to align a tradition-based company with the changing markets and achieve a further increase in sales.
Andreas Kandt, CEO at Bekum, on the exhibition stand at the K fair: “Today we are already in the seventh generation of machine and we have built up a considerable fund of experience which will be invaluable as we move forward”.
Bekum, with sales of some €78 million in 2013, employs 360 people worldwide, across a total of four sites in Germany, Austria, USA and Brazil. Packaging in the consumer and industrial sectors represent the application-related focal points (2/3rds of sales).
The range of machines includes all-electric and hydraulic single and twin station blow moulding lines incorporating monolayer and multilayer technology for the manufacture of plastic containers with a content of 3ml to 40l. Up to 85% PE (HDPE/LDPE) and PP are processed, followed by PET-G for drinks packaging, particularly aimed at the US market. At 25%, the co-ex technology accounts for a large proportion of business volume.
When I asked Mr Kandt about his ultimate objective, his immediate response was: “To get sales up to € 100 million within two years”. He continued: “We could not be better placed for achieving our target. With a very high level of in-house manufacturing we are working at full capacity in our plants. The newly introduced all-electric generation of blow moulding machines, “Eblow”, with its patented C frame and clamping forces of 10 to 24t is opening up further business sectors such as, for example, in cleanroom applications in the pharmaceuticals and cosmetics industries”.
Andreas Kandt in front of the fully electric blow moulding machine Eblow 407 D twin station at the Bekum booth
Kandt went on to affirm his belief that there is an increasing demand for retrofits on the market. “To give some idea of the potential, there are currently around 16,000 blow moulding machines on the market, and this is set to play a significant role in achieving our target”.
Company strengths
The company believes in devolving power away from the centre in Berlin and out into the markets. Each facility has its own development and production capacities as well as sales and service, which gives them both freedom and flexibility. The manufacturing programme focuses on meeting customers’ requirements in their particular market.
Austria, for instance, concentrates on the production and sale of bulk blow moulding lines for technical components for the automotive industry such as fuel tanks and filler pipes in 3D.
The USA concentrates on single and twin station blow moulding machines, with a key emphasis on the processing of PET-G for beverages packaging, particularly containers with handles for bottling juices, together with co-ex applications.
In Brazil, single and twin station blow moulding machines are also being built and the focus here is on canisters for industrial use with a content of up to 20l and 5gal containers for drinking water.
In Berlin, all-electric machines are being built alongside the hydraulic machines. According to Kandt, the next step is to centralise product development at the Berlin and Austria facilities. “The aim is to ensure that the technicians and engineers co-ordinate their activities more closely, focus on product standardisation and most importantly be involved in projects from initial conception to final completion”.
The entire complement of the project work plus the country-specific applications remains the preserve of the individual facilities in their particular catchment area.
A further step aimed at increasing market coverage worldwide is (expansion into) Asia with facilities in China and India. According to Kandt, the company will be looking at total solutions for the markets, rather than simply supplying individual machines. “We believe,” he went on, “that this initiative will give us a significant competitive advantage”.
www.bekum.de
