Labotek at Fakuma 2026: New Solutions for Energy-efficient Drying, Intelligent Control and Transparent Processes

George Nowill
12 October 2026, 14:11 BST
9 minutes read

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A new generation of mobile dryers, Bottle-to-Bottle solutions, MDS Balance Drydose, a modular control concept, EHR and Gravi-Dryer®: at Fakuma 2026 in Friedrichshafen, Labotek will present a wide range of new solutions designed to make plastics processing more economical and resource-efficient. Particular emphasis will be placed on energy efficiency, process reliability, visualisation and the intelligent integration of material handling and drying.

At Fakuma 2026, Labotek will demonstrate how modern material handling and drying systems can be made more efficient, transparent and flexible through intelligent control and energy concepts. The company will present an extensive portfolio of new and further developed solutions, ranging from mobile drying and central material handling to heat recovery, gravimetrically controlled drying and digital process visualisation.

At the heart of these developments are three key requirements in modern plastics processing: consistent product quality, high process reliability and the lowest possible energy consumption.

“At Fakuma 2026, we will be presenting a wide range of new developments in central material handling, visualisation and mobile drying. One of the highlights will be the latest developments in our Labo-Net control platform, which visitors will be able to see live at the show,” say Managing Directors Thomas Ringheim and Lukas Pawelczyk.

“The new control system provides a clear and transparent overview of production processes. By documenting the sequence of individual process steps and maintaining a detailed operator event log, users can further improve quality assurance and traceability. At the same time, intelligent control functions help reduce system energy consumption in a targeted way.”

DDM VII: A New Generation of Mobile Drying

With the DDM VII, Labotek is presenting the latest generation of its well-established mobile dryers at Fakuma.

Since its introduction in 1989, the DDM series has become firmly established in the plastics industry, particularly due to its robust, user-friendly design and its combination of material drying and dry-air conveying directly to the processing machine.

The DDM VII takes this proven concept a step further. The new mobile dryer is manufactured from high-quality V2A stainless steel both inside and out and features a significantly larger cleaning door. This makes material changes, cleaning and maintenance easier – an important advantage, particularly in applications where materials are changed frequently.

The DDM VII combines the proven operating principle of the series with a modern design focused on practical day-to-day industrial use and ease of operation.

MDS Balance Drydose: Drying and Dosing in One Compact Unit

With MDS Balance Drydose, Labotek and Movacolor are presenting a jointly developed solution for drying and precisely dosing additives.

The system combines highly efficient material drying with gravimetric dosing technology in a compact unit positioned directly at the machine inlet. MDS Balance Drydose is designed particularly to meet the growing requirements associated with processing demanding engineering plastics and additives.

For hygroscopic or moisture-sensitive additives in particular, material conditioning can have a significant impact on process stability and component quality. The Drydose concept therefore conditions the material exactly where it is needed: directly at the dosing station of the processing machine.

The material is dried according to demand within the dosing station and then dosed precisely. Depending on the application, this can eliminate the need for additional separate drying units. The short material path also reduces the risk of moisture being reabsorbed between drying and processing.

For the user, this integration means fewer interfaces, a more compact system layout and controlled material conditioning immediately before processing. This can help reduce quality variations and scrap while improving overall production efficiency.

New Control Concept: Modular, Connected and Easy to Expand

Labotek is also introducing a new control concept designed to simplify the installation, configuration and future expansion of drying and material handling systems.

The solution is designed for the DFD (dry-air generators), DH (drying hoppers), SVS (vacuum stations) and EHR (external heat recovery systems), enabling a modular system architecture.

At the centre of the system is a 10-inch touch panel integrated into the DFD. From here, up to 14 local units comprising DH, SVS and EHR modules can be controlled. Each individual unit has its own controller with a 7-inch touch panel, while continuous PROFINET connections link the units throughout the system.

Communication is cascaded from one controller to the next. This reduces cabling requirements and simplifies both initial installation and subsequent system expansion.

SVR series scanning vacuum receivers installed at the processing machines can also be integrated into the overall system via PROFINET using a separate controller with eight outputs.

Load cells can optionally be installed beneath the drying hoppers. This allows weight data to be recorded and visualised both centrally via the DFD controller and locally at the respective DH controller.

One of the key advantages of the modular concept becomes particularly apparent when a system is expanded. Additional units are connected to the existing installation via PROFINET, after which the central controller automatically detects and integrates them into the system.

At the same time, the new concept remains fully compatible with the established Labo-Net control system. In this configuration, Labo-Net acts as the central master control. Depending on the system configuration, it can manage up to three DFD units, five SVS vacuum stations and 40 DH drying hoppers.

The result is a scalable control architecture suitable for both compact installations and extensive central material handling systems.

Labo-Net: Greater Transparency in Production and Quality Assurance

With the continued development of Labo-Net, Labotek is placing particular emphasis at Fakuma on the visualisation and documentation of material handling and drying processes.

Users gain a central overview of relevant system and process information. The sequence of individual process steps can be documented and used for quality assurance and traceability. In addition, an operator event log makes it possible to track relevant interventions and events.

As a result, the control platform is increasingly evolving from a system operating interface into a tool for process control, quality assurance, traceability and energy management.

EHR: Using Process Heat to Significantly Reduce Electricity Consumption

With EHR – External Heat Recovery, Labotek is presenting another solution for reducing energy demand in plastics drying.

Unlike internal heat recovery systems, EHR uses external heat sources that are already available within the production environment, such as waste heat from compressor cooling systems or other industrial processes.

Energy supplied via hot water is transferred directly to the process air in Labotek drying systems by means of highly efficient air-to-water heat exchangers. This allows energy that is already available to be reused for the drying process rather than generating all of the required process heat electrically.

Depending on water temperature, flow rate and process conditions, electricity savings of up to 85% are possible. This gives plastics processors considerable potential to reduce both operating costs and CO2 emissions associated with energy consumption.

Until now, EHR has required integration into a PLC control system, either directly through the controller of a Labotek dryer or via Labo-Net. With the new control concept, EHR will also be available as a stand-alone solution, allowing it to be integrated more flexibly into different production environments.

Gravi-Dryer®: Drying According to Actual Material Demand

Energy efficiency alone is not enough in modern plastics production. Process stability, gentle material handling and transparent documentation of production conditions are equally important.

With its DFD series, Labotek offers energy-optimised dry-air systems with capacities ranging from 200 to 8,500 m³/h. The associated drying hoppers cover volumes from 15 to 12,000 litres. This makes the range suitable for everything from individual processing machines to large central material handling systems.

At the heart of the intelligent drying concept is the Gravi-Dryer®. The gravimetrically controlled drying hopper continuously monitors material input and output using the Gain-in-Weight/Loss-in-Weight principle.

Based on actual material throughput, the required drying time can be dynamically adjusted regardless of the material’s bulk density. This allows the drying process to be matched more precisely to actual production demand.

The result is a reduced risk of over- or under-drying and gentler, material-specific treatment of the plastic granulate.

Production start-up and shutdown can also be managed in a controlled way. Material flow can be increased according to demand during start-up and gradually reduced towards the end of production. This helps avoid unnecessary material losses and excessive thermal exposure of the granulate.

Further energy savings are achieved through individual airflow control for each drying hopper. Each hopper receives only the amount of dry air actually required for its specific process. The central dry-air unit automatically adjusts its output to the combined demand of the connected hoppers using frequency-controlled blowers.

Gravi-Dryer® functionality is managed through the Labo-Net control system, which records, manages and visualises the relevant drying and material parameters.

Material and process data can also be documented in an SQL database as an option. This enables long-term use of process information for quality assurance, traceability and modern material management.

Fakuma 2026: Efficiency Through Integrated Systems

With the developments being presented at Fakuma 2026, Labotek is taking a holistic approach. Rather than focusing on a single component, the aim is to make plastics production more efficient and transparent through the intelligent interaction of drying, material handling, heat recovery, control, visualisation and process data collection.

From the compact DDM VII and Bottle-to-Bottle applications to MDS Balance Drydose, jointly developed with Movacolor, as well as EHR, Gravi-Dryer® and the new control architecture, Labotek is presenting solutions for a wide range of production scales and levels of automation.

The common principle behind all of these developments is clear: use energy only where it is actually needed, make processes transparent and, at the same time, ensure consistently high material and product quality.

Visitors to Fakuma 2026 in Friedrichshafen will be able to experience the new solutions live, with particular emphasis on the latest developments in Labo-Net visualisation.