Ammega releases new belts for logistics, automotive

ATLANTA—As Ammega Group looks toward customer centricity and regional partnerships in North America, the Netherlands-based firm is releasing two new belts for use in warehouses, distribution centers and manufacturing plants.

Intended to minimize downtime, Ropanol EX (from Ammeraal Beltech, PVC and urethane belting) and Titanium belt (from Megadyne Group, specialty engineered power transmission belting) were developed and driven by demand in the logistics space.

"Our Ropanol EX and Titanium solutions are designed to stand up against the toughest demands of today's warehousing, distribution and manufacturing centers," said Bobby Bauman, director of product management at Ammega.

The Ropanol EX belt is intended for use in sortation systems and high-speed automated conveyance units, including airport luggage carriers. Ammeraal Beltech uses a proprietary fabric coating on the bottom of the Ropanol EX to minimize noise.

Megadyne's Titanium belt, touted as "the strongest on the market," finds application in automotive manufacturing plants—including Tesla facilities.

"As the transition from internal combustion engine to battery-powered cars continues to rise, so does the need for stronger and more durable belts that can carry heavier vehicles," Ammega stated in a news release.

The logistics industry is highly complex and highly automated, linking air, rail, highway and marine freight.

In addition, e-commerce depends on a seamless logistics supply chain to be successful. And physical mail sorting depends on ease of transportation just the same.

"Thanks to increasing automation, digitization and advances in precision handling, these operations are moving more and faster than ever and belting—whether in conveying or power transmission—must keep up," Bauman said.

As Ammega Group reaches its fifth anniversary, the 6,000-employee firm has positioned itself as a global player with uniquely regional capabilities in the lightweight belting world.

The company is using this more flexible, responsive tack—as well as a $100 million, multi-year investment—to weave itself into the fabric of what it calls "an American manufacturing renaissance" in lightweight belting and power transmission.

Ammega formed out of a merger between Ammeraal Beltech and Megadyne in 2018 and has five manufacturing sites and an extensive distribution network in the U.S.

That network is split among Ammeraal Beltech, Megadyne and Chemprene, a distinctly American brand of lightweight belting that Ammega acquired following the 2018 merger (and pumped $14 million into in 2021).

Uni and Jason Industrial round out Ammega's brands.

Ammeraal Beltech, with production sites in Buford, Ga., and Reading, Pa., is the flagship for Ammega and the most vertically integrated segment in the group. The unit makes PVC- and urethane-based belting.

Chemprene, based in Beacon, N.Y., also is vertically integrated, differentiating itself in lightweight belting with rubber materials (as opposed to the more plastic- and urethane-based Ammeraal Beltech belts). Chemprene mixes its rubber on-site.

And Megadyne, with manufacturing sites in Buford, Ga. (about three miles from the Ammeraal facility), and Charlotte, N.C. (a sister plant to the Megadyne flagship in Italy), makes power transmission belts and components, or the "guts" of a conveyance system that make everything else move.