In 2014, Austrian injection molding machine manufacturer Engel launched a new, China-built range of injection molding machines for the Asian market under the brand name Wintec. However, the no-frills, standardized machines soon were sold outside the initially targeted market, and today the brand is firmly established in many parts of the world.
Outside Asia, Wintec was first launched in the METAI region (Middle East, Turkey, Africa, India). In 2018, Engel took the brand to the Americas, launching its Wintec servo-hydraulic t-win and all-electric e-win injection molding machines at NPE 2018.
Engel recently said that t-win injection molding machine will be available worldwide, as the company is expanding sales of the dual-platen machine into Europe.
Shorter product life cycles, for example in the appliance sector, and increasing cost pressure are fueling demand in Europe for standardized injection molding machines that are both powerful and quickly available, according to Stefan Engleder, CEO of the Engel Group. Wintec can offer a solution with an attractive price-performance ratio.
Engel's two-brand strategy makes it the only supplier in the world that can offer single-source solutions ranging from standard single-component injection molding to technologically sophisticated applications, emphasized Engel Group's CSO, Christoph Steger.
Wintec's t-win injection molding machines are particularly popular for high-volume single-component injection molding that may not require any special technologies, but places high demands on quality and process consistency. The target industries include domestic appliances, technical molding and automotive. The machines are delivered pre-configured, which shortens the time for commissioning.
Wintec machines are designed and engineered in Europe and produced in China. The hydraulic dual platen machines of the t-win series are available with clamping forces from 4500 to 18000 kN and feature energy-saving servowin servo-hydraulics as standard. The C3 control unit enables intuitive operator guidance, an ergonomic work approach and flexible integration of a wide range of robot types and brands. Various demonstration machines are on show in Austria and other European countries.
The production plant at Changzhou is integrated with the Engel Group's global quality management system. Engel has also further invested in Changzhou site, which has resulted in a doubling of the production floorspace. Construction, which started in 2018 in order to be able to meet the rising global demand for its machines, was completed in the early summer of 2020.
