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Barnes Group Acquires FOBOHA Molds Business Barnes Group Inc., an international aero- space and industrial manufacturing and service provider, agreed last month to purchase FOBOHA, the German mold- making business of Adval Tech, a Swiss processor of plastic and metal compo- nents. FOBOHA, known particularly for its rotary "cube" mold systems, has plants in Germany, Switzerland, and China, as well as a sales office, FOBOHA (US) Inc., in Beverly, Mass. Barnes Group already has assembled a stable of important brands in plastics: Priamus process controls and sensors and three hot-runner suppliers— Männer (Germany), Thermoplay (Italy), and Synventive (Peabody, Mass.). Italian Film-Extrusion Supplier Expands in U.S. A leading Italian supplier of cast and blown film lines is setting up a new operation in the U.S. Milan-based Gruppo Colines announced it will be opening an office in Hauppauge, N.Y., next month. The new operation, Colines Corp. USA, will offer technical support for North and Central America. +39 0321 486300 • colines.it New Detroit-Area Tech Center For Engel, Trexel & Others A new technical center in Livonia, Mich., gives automotive OEMs and their tier suppliers a production-scale lab to test the very latest molding technologies. On June 29, Engel, York, Pa. (engelglobal. com/us), helped inaugurate the tech center in collaboration with SA Engi- neering, a subsidiary of SA Automotive, a full-service engineering firm (saauto- motive.com) with two plants in the Detroit area and one in Mexico. The facility has 42,000 ft 2 of floor- space, eight independent offices, and a large conference room. Engel has installed five injection machines, includ- ing a duo (two-platen) 3500-ton press with easix six-axis robot; a duo 1650-ton wide-platen machine with integrated viper 60 robot; a duo 1000-ton wide- platen machine with integrated viper 40 robot; a duo 660-ton press with viper 20 robot; and a 285-ton tiebarless victory machine equipped for Engel's watermelt water-assist injection technology. All the machines are capable of running the MuCell microcellular foam process from Trexel Inc., Wilmington, Mass. (trexel.com), another technology partner in the tech center (see June Starting Up). The 3500-, 1650-, and 1000- ton presses are also equipped with Engel's coining technology. Other technical partners in the tech center include moldmaker Excel RP Inc. and Excel Global LLC (its offshore tooling subsidiary), Allen Park, Mich. (excelrp.com). They will assist with mold creation and molding for R&D;, proto- type, and low-volume production. SA spokesperson Lydia Araya said other companies have asked to co-locate at the Livonia site. The center currently has eight full-time employees, plus two part-time workers and two full-time consultants on site. Araya said that when fully staffed, the center will have 13 full-time employees. In the U.S., Engel has additional R&D; and process-development capa- bilities in York and Corona, Calif. Engel also will soon have four machines for process and application develop- ment at moldmaker Hi-Tech Mold & Engineering Inc., Rochester Hills, Mich. (hitechmold.com). Currently, Hi-Tech has a 3500-ton duo with coining technology and a 1000-ton duo wide- platen, both equipped with robots. This year, it will add a 340-ton press and a 660-ton wide-platen machine. controls, and DME mold components and MRO industrial supplies. The new site (estore.milacron.com) is Windows, Mac, and iOS compatible. Since its "soft launch" in May, thousands of customers have processed orders. Milacron plans to use the site to launch new products and promote seasonal savings and quick- delivery options. This summer, the site's functionality is being expanded with a hot-runner configuration tool for Mold- Masters products. Milacron Holdings Corp., Cincinnati, announced last month that its new eSTORE is now live and fulfilling customer orders in North America and Europe. Whereas vari- ous Milacron brands had separate e-commerce operations in the past, eSTORE provides unified, streamlined, 24-hr access to spare parts, systems, components components, and supplies for Milacron and components, and supplies for Milacron supplies components, and supplies for Milacron for components, and supplies for Milacron Milacron components, and supplies for Milacron and Ferromatik injection machines, Uniloy blow molders, Milacron extrusion systems, Mold-Masters hot runners and Milacron Launches "eSTORE" 8 AUGUST 2016 Plastics Technology PTonline.com T E C H N O L O G Y A N D I N D U S T R Y N E W S St ar t ing Up