HF Mixing Group invests to capitalize on automation, smart factories

LAWRENCE, Kan.—The rubber industry, and manufacturing as a whole, is evolving. HF Mixing Group wants to make sure it's prepared.

The machinery maker has set a target of 25 percent growth through 2023. Ian Wilson, the firm's vice president of sales and marketing and member of HF's board of management, said that it will need to invest to have the appropriate capacity levels in production, engineering and field service.

"If there is one consistency in our industry, I would say it's the change," Peter Scholz, vice president of sales and marketing in North America and site director for HF's facility in Topeka, Kan., said at HF's International Mixing Seminar, held recently in Lawrence. Scholz said the event drew 184 attendees.

"It changes almost all the time, either by rubber product or equipment changes. The latest—what we see right now—is with the automotive industry moving toward electric and autonomous vehicles. But there are others: Manufacturing 4.0, data mining, the automation process, cybersecurity and more preventive and corrective actions."

HF estimated that in 2017 there were about 300 batch mixers procured from the market. Wilson said the firm projects that number to reach 600 by 2050, and that it holds about 50 percent of the market share.Capacity needs to increase significantly to meet these future industry requirements, Wilson said. Growth in automation and continued interest in tandem mixing will be driven by complexities in automotive.

"Tire sizes are getting more complicated and rim sizes are increasing," Wilson said. "Customers are looking at more different tire sizes for specific car brands, which is increasing the complexity. Electric vehicles are placing further demands on the compound as well because of a low bearing capacity increase and the acceleration run means further reduction in rolling resistance is required."

Significant investments

HF already is getting started on the investment front as the firm has been very busy in the past 18 months.

Recently, HF added another service facility in Thailand to complement its activity in Malaysia. Its new facility in India primarily was established to serve the country's growing tire industry. It also will consolidate its Freudenberg locations under one roof with a new building set to open in 2021. Wilson said the operation is fragmented because of all the different historical sites.

HF has been busy on the acquisition front, too. In 2017, the firm entered into a joint venture with B&K, a Germany-based material handling company.

The deal increased the level of competency in upstream material handling equipment, Wilson said. The move allowed HF to further expand its product portfolio and have access to B&K's upstream equipment and plant engineering resources. The venture focuses on weighing, storage, feeding and dosing of raw materials and liquids that are tailored to system requirements.

"They offer full solutions from full chemical systems to liquid injection for polymers," Wilson said of B&K. "We will invest further into B&K. A new building is planned to increase the floor space by 165 percent, and also increase employment to focus on increasing the revenue to complement our systems strategy by 2023."

HF also acquired Mesabi Control Engineering Ltd., a Minnesota-based provider of automation systems and software, areas that Wilson said are critical to the company's growth plans.

"We're very happy with Mesabi," Wilson said. "We think this is a big step forward for HF in North America in giving automation support to the North American market."

HF intends to double the size of the company, from about $5 million to about $12.5 million in revenue. Employment also is projected to nearly double to about 30 by 2023. Mesabi will move into a new facility in Oakdale, Minn., doubling the square footage compared to its previous site.

Mesabi President John Beaudoin said at the seminar that automation is one of the fastest-growing segments in the rubber industry. However, it requires a lot of investment, which is what made HF such a strong fit for the firm. Mesabi also was taking more global projects, and the global presence of HF will make that easier to handle.

"Joining the group, the focus has always been the customer, that's always been No. 1 for us," Beaudoin said. "We always try to build long-term relationships with them. It's important that the goals of the customer are taken into consideration."

New leadership

HF also realigned its management team in the wake of Andreas Limper's retirement. He served as co-CEO of the company along with Mark Meulbroek.

Meulbroek, at that time, took over as HF Mixing's sole CEO and HF said Limper will continue with the firm as a consultant.

As of 2016, when he was honored with ITEC's Harold Herzlich Distinguished Technology Medal, Limper held about 35 patents on rubber and processing with his work being published in about 180 publications. He's the author and editor of several books and is a past recipient of the Erich Conrad Medal of the German Rubber Association.

Limper has served as a longtime professor at Aachen University, where he specializes in tire production, rubber mixing, rubber extrusion and thermoplastics.

HF said he was instrumental during the group's restructuring and rebranding efforts as its co-CEO when the company aligned and streamlined its global manufacturing footprint.

"I think everybody probably knows Dr. Limper and his experiences," Wilson said. "He was a highly respected member of the board of management and has been with the HF Mixing Group since its formation in 2010. He was one of the driving forces behind the success story of the HF Mixing Group."