Noteworthy News: Weekly Wrap-Up

There’s always something interesting going on in the moldmaking industry. See the recent news releases below to see current happenings for this week!

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iD Additives Open House Demonstrated Rust Remover Product

Friday, October 11, in Aurora, IL, iD Additives hosted its first open house for its rust remover /preventative, iD Eco-Pro 360, which is a high-performance, one-step rust remover that provides extended rust protection. Since the remover is a visual product, the company wanted to show its customers in the Aurora, IL, area how the solution and cart work together to clean cooling passages, heat exchangers, water lines, tools and more.

Ingersoll Machine Tools Awarded Contract for Giant Magellan Telescope Construction

The Camozzi Group Subsidiary Ingersoll Machine Tools has been awarded a contract for the construction of the first new generation Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) by GMTO Corporation. The telescope will have a resolving power 10 times greater than today’s leading global telescopes. Ingersoll will produce the 1,300 ton precision steel optical support structure which will enable frictionless movement made possible because of the Camozzi Group’s advanced hydrostatic technology. In total, this is a 135 million dollar investment, and the contract was won following a 2-year global tendering process. Over the next nine years GMTO, MT Mechatronics and Ingersoll Machine Tools will work together to deliver the 1,300 ton steel structure, which is due to be delivered to Chile by the end of 2025, ready for mirrors to be installed in 2028.

The Plastek Group Wins RJG Training Excellence Award 2019

RJG is pleased to announce that the 2019 winner of the Training Excellence Award is The Plastek Group. The award was presented to them on October 4, 2019 at the MAPP Benchmarking Conference in Indianapolis. The RJG Training Excellence Award was created to celebrate top-tier injection molders who have chosen to be RJG training partners. It recognizes hard work and dedication to employee growth and commitment to continuous improvement. The criteria taken into account for this award includes number of people who completed RJG training, developing an ongoing training plan, committing to RJG as a training partner, completing the first phase of the training plan and submitting an RJG training testimonial. The Plastek Group met and surpassed all of the requirements and has committed to providing their team with RJG training into the future. The hope is to provide their employees with growth opportunities, improved skills, and job security as well as provide The Plastek Group with trained staff and a positive culture.

Harbour Results, Inc. Predicts 2020 North American Automotive Vendor Tooling Spend to Decrease to $6.8 Billion

Harbour Results, Inc. (HRI), a leading authority to the manufacturing industry, recently released the results of the Harbour IQ in-depth study on the current state of the automotive vendor tooling industry. The analysis predicts that 2020 automotive vendor tooling spend in North America will drop to $6.8 billion from an estimated $8.7 billion in 2019. The key factor driving reducing tooling spend is the decreased number of North American vehicles that will be sourced for production in 2020 – 45 total vehicles. Furthermore, the Detroit Three automakers, who source most of their tools in this region, are forecasted to source only 13 vehicles in 2020 representing approximately $3.1 billion in tooling spend. Further, Harbour IQ estimates North American tooling spend in 2021 to be $7.3 billion.

Inkbit Raises $12 Million in Equity Round Led by Stratasys and DSM Venturing

Inkbit announced the closing of a $12M equity financing round led by Stratasys and DSM Venturing, the venture capital arm of Royal DSM, with additional participation from Ocado, 3M and Saint-Gobain. This new capital raise follows on the company’s first $2.8M round led by IMA, a leader in pharmaceutical processing equipment, closed in December of 2017. Inkbit is also funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the National Science Foundation and MassVentures. Proceeds will be used to industrialize Inkbit’s additive manufacturing system to fit the requirements of multi-material and volume manufacturing, expand the set of materials for medical, life sciences and robotics applications and install the first units for customers.