FRIMO and Schuler form „Composites Alliance“

Announcement of cooperation between FRIMO and Schuler at the Composites Europe
FRIMO and Schuler form   "Composites Alliance"

A new alliance was agreed at the Composites Europe fair (Stuttgart September 27 – 29, 2011) between Schuler SMG GmbH & Co. KG, a member of the Schuler Group, and the FRIMO Group GmbH. In future, both companies will offer their customers tailored turnkey solutions from a single source for the mass manufacturing of lightweight components. This ‚Composites Alliance‘ will pool the know-how and experience of FRIMO and Schuler for the processing of composite materials. The two companies hope to exploit synergies and tap new markets. The product spectrum ranges from pre-forming and pre-cutting to the actual forming process, for example for the manufacturing of carbon fiber reinforced plastic parts or the processing of organo sheets.

„The alliance enables us to offer complete systems for the field of composites processing,“ says Manfred Wischnewski, Managing Director of Schuler SMG GmbH & Co. KG. „FRIMO is the ideal partner for us. In the field of plastics processing, automation and tooling technology, FRIMO has many years of expertise and a strong reputation on the market. We are firmly convinced that this alliance will bring our customers considerable benefits.“

„We regard Schuler as the best-possible partner, as we fit perfectly with regard to press construction and downstream processes,“ adds Hans-Günter Bayer, CEO of the FRIMO Group GmbH. „Schuler is the number one in forming, while we are the plastics specialists. Both companies are extremely well integrated with the OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers.“

Customers will benefit from the extended possibilities of ‚one-stop shopping‘, such as fewer interfaces, better CAD connections and optimized processes. In their respective fields, both partners offer leading know-how and an extensive range of references in the automotive and aviation industries, as well as for railway vehicles and other applications.

„Our many years of experience in the automation of pressing processes rounds out the spectrum of benefits for the customer,“ says Uwe Krause, Head of FRIMO“s Automation division.

„When two leading specialists work together it can only result in premium quality,“ states Hans-Günter Bayer. „In everything we do, Schuler and FRIMO always want to stay ahead,“ adds Manfred Wischnewski. And this together in many projects in the future – for the benefit of our customers.

About Schuler (www.schulergroup.com)

As the technological and global market leader in forming, Schuler supplies machines, production lines, dies, process know-how and services for the entire metal-working industry. The company supplies mechanical and hydraulic presses, production lines and dies for the metal-working and plastics-processing industries. These include lines for the mass manufacturing of Sheet Molding Compounds (SMC), Glass Mat Reinforced Thermoplastics (GMT), Long Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics (LFT), and Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) parts. The company employs around 5,000 people and is represented by its own facilities and sales offices in forty nations around the world.

About Frimo (www.frimo.de)

The FRIMO Group includes global production and sales locations with more than 1,100 employees in Europe, Asia and America, and numerous representatives around the world. FRIMO is one of the worldwide leading developers and providers of system solutions for the manufacture of high quality fiber-reinforced plastics (composite technologies) and supplies tooling and machinery as well as the respective automation and finishing, e.g. with flexible trimming, joining and assembling. FRIMO“s portfolio for the plastics processing industries also covers an extremely wide range of processes for PU processing along with flexible trimming, punching, pressing and forming, as well as thermoforming, laminating, edge folding, joining and gluing. FRIMO offers its customers tailor-made tools, machinery and systems as separate or turnkey solutions from a single source.

FRIMO Group GmbH
Martina Schierholt
Hansaring 1
49504 Lotte
schierholt.m@frimo.com
+49 (05404) 886-157
http://www.frimo.com