Plastics News - Show Daily - October 25, 2022 - 12

12 * Plastics News, October 25, 2022
SHOW DAILY
Woojin touts
foaming
technology as
it eyes roads
for global
growth
WOOJIN
PLAIMM INC.
Hall 15,
Booth D58
By Catherine Kavanaugh
Plastics News Staff
Woojin Plaimm Inc., one of the
largest injection molding machine
builders in South Korea, is
looking west to boost sales, touting
its controllers and microcellular
foam technology at K 2022.
Founded in 1985 by Ick Whan
Kim, the Boeun-based company
manufactures about 2,700 horizontal
and vertical presses annually
for a diverse customer base
that has been investing in their
processing plants.
Some of South Korea's largest
companies use Woojin machines
to produce parts for the automotive,
electronics and household
appliances markets. The company
has an export rate of about
40 percent and there are gains
to be made, according to Gregor
Göbel, CEO of Woojin Plaimm
GmbH in Leobersdorf, Austria.
The Austrian facility, which is
focused on research and development,
is the only operation
outside of Korea that isn't a sales
and service facility.
Woojin exports machines
mostly to Southeast Asia and
is still making inroads in North
America, where sales to Mexico
have picked up, Göbel said.
" We'll probably have the best
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results this year in Korea. We're
growing and trying to develop
new markets. We have longtime
customers in the United States,
but it's a market we're still trying
to develop, " he said.
At K 2022, Woojin put a spotlight
on low-pressure microcellular
foam injection molding, which
can reduce processing costs and
energy usage while lightweighting
products. The foam injection
molding process dissolves and
disperses nitrogen, an inert gas,
into the molten resin before it is
injected into the mold.
" By putting in 20 percent gas,
I take out 20 percent material, "
Göbel said.
Decompression during the injection
process forms a porous
part or product that is lightweight
but still has a thick wall
that resists warpage.
Woojin set up a hydraulic
DL500A5 press at K 2022 to produce
battery modules from nylon
6.
" We're producing a typical upcoming
part, a battery tray holder
for electric mobility, " Göbel
said, adding that many K 2022
exhibitors are showing what's
possible more than what's new.
The company also had an electric
TE220A5 press producing
polypropylene containers, an
electric multi-injection TE150NC
press producing polycarbonate
ice scrapers with thermoplastic
polyurethane handles, and it
exhibited a low-fl oor vertical hydraulic
press.
In 2013, Woojin was in the
South Korean
machinery maker
Woojin Plaimm Inc.
has been working on
an upcoming part,
a battery tray for
electric vehicles.
Plastics News photos by
Caroline Seidel
Gregor Göbel,
CEO of Woojin
Plaimm GmbH
in Leobersdorf,
Austria, part
of South
Korea's Woojin
Plaimm Inc.
midst of moving the company
headquarters factory from
Incheon, the site of the main
airport serving Seoul, to Boeun,
where it could expand capacity
for building molding machines
to 6,000 presses a year.
The company has R&D staff at
the 690,500-square-meter headquarters
and in Austria. Göbel
said his facility has been fortunate
to put together a dedicated
team from seven countries,
including some young members,
that keeps achieving greater
control and effi ciency over processing
parameters.
" Young people want to work
in this fi eld and on connectivity.
It's a part of the new economy,
and they want to be a part of it, "
Göbel said.
In addition to building out
Woojin's range of machines, they
work on the company's IMC 500
controller, which is based on
HTML5 and OPC-UA, and has
Windows 10 embedded.
" We can support all this connectivity, "
Göbel said. " Industry 4.0 is
a question of communication and
handling data and interface questions.
On this, I think we're really
offering a top solution. "
Woojin also is vertically integrated
- even to the point of having a
steel foundry - so supply shortages
haven't been a big challenge.
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Plastics News - Show Daily - October 25, 2022

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