MESTO Saves Space and Energy with Injection Moulding Machines from WITTMANN BATTENFELD

The sprayer manufacturer MESTO based in Freiberg / Neckar relies on injection moulding machines from the WITTMANN Group to modernise its machinery. Apart from reliability and quality of service, the most attractive features of WITTMANN BATTENFELD machines are their low energy consumption and compactness.

MESTO, a family-owned company in the third generation, was established in1919 by Karl and Ernst Stockburger as a metal workshop. Its initial business consisted of repairs and locksmith work. In 1925, it started its production of spraying equipment. Today, the company with 120 employees ranks among the leading manufacturers worldwide in the spraying equipment sector, making one million sprayers annually on the 9,000 m² production floor.

Top Quality Smart Sprayers

In the 1970s, MESTO started the production of plastic parts for its appliances, which was further extended with the construction of a new production hall in 2012. Its high vertical range of manufacture is one of the company’s vital success factors. Plastics injection moulding, metalworking and assembly are all located in-house to enable the production of steel and stainless steel containers and all necessary plastic parts, including appliances completely made of plastic.

The appliances from MESTO stand out in particular by features which give the customers added value. These are, for example, the ergonomic design of the sprayers for fatigue-free working, the long service life of the appliances due to their robustness, as well as guaranteed availability of spare parts for 20 years. The products are marketed partly as catalogue goods and partly developed and manufactured for OEMs.

Typical customer segments are industry and tradespeople, home and garden, food, fruit growing and viticulture, agriculture and forestry, automotive sector and cleaning services. A product line of special interest to MESTO is sprayers for disease control, particularly for fighting malaria. MESTO’s range includes an appliance certified by the WHO specially developed for this purpose. With this appliance, MESTO is one of the few manufacturers worldwide catering to this segment.

Sustainability

The aspect of sustainability is also given a high priority at MESTO. For instance, recycled material is used for producing non-pressurized parts. A photovoltaic system is currently being installed, and the waste heat from the injection moulding machines is used for heating. Élise Sellmayr, Manager of Production Technology and Process Optimisation at MESTO, points out that a significant amount of energy savings has also been achieved by replacing old injection moulding machines with new ones.

Élise Sellmayr explains: “The decision to replace the first old machine models was made in order to improve quality standards and reliability. After a substantial reduction of electricity consumption was measured with the new equipment, this aspect was another decisive motive for replacing more old machines. In this way, electricity consumption has been reduced by 30% since 2017 by exchanging eight of a total of 16 existing machines for new ones from WITTMANN BATTENFELD.”

The WITTMANN Partnership

Currently, a total of 15 injection moulding machines are operating at MESTO, ranging from 250 to 5,000 kN in clamping force, 11 of which have come from WITTMANN BATTENFELD. The machines delivered since 2017 are models from the servo-hydraulic SmartPower series with clamping forces from 600 to 3,500 kN and one MacroPower with 5,000 kN clamping force. The machines from the SmartPower series stand out by their high level of stability, energy efficiency and compactness. Most of the machines come equipped with linear robots from WITTMANN.

One SmartPower 350 is designed as an Insider cell, which means that the W831 robot from WITTMANN, a conveyor belt and the protective housing are all integrated in the production cell – a solution greatly appreciated at MESTO due to the amount of space saved by the system’s compactness, and one which will also be considered for the acquisition of future production cells.

On the most recently delivered SmartPower 350, an automation system designed by WITTMANN BATTENFELD Germany based in Nuremberg, has been implemented, which includes a separation and feeding device for insert parts and a stacking unit.

Looking to the future…

An additional SmartPower 180 equipped with a robot and automation will be delivered in late summer this year. This project aims to feed various metal inserts to the machine for over-moulding. In addition to the machines with automation, MESTO has also ordered a printing station for plastic parts from WITTMANN BATTENFELD Germany.

Apart from their high energy efficiency, injection moulding machines are appreciated at MESTO primarily for their compactness and reliability. The possibility of obtaining machines, automation and auxiliaries from a single source from WITTMANN is also becoming increasingly important for MESTO. Johannes Stuber, Production Manager at MESTO, particularly appreciates the good cooperation right from the concept planning stage. Johannes Stuber comments: “What gives WITTMANN BATTENFELD a competitive edge is above all, its excellent service. In combination with its energy-efficient, compact, complete solutions, this is a decisive factor for us in the joint implementation of any projects.”

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