MAAG Group, a broadly diversified global solutions provider with integrated and customizable systems in process technology for the polymer, chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries, celebrates 75 years at its facility in Großostheim, Germany.
Founded in 1947 by Hans Hench Sr. in Aschaffenburg, Germany, the MAAG Germany that we know today was then named Automatik H. Hench und J. Kaupp KG. As early as 1948, the company started supplying its first machines and equipment for plastics processing. In the 1950s, the plant was steadily expanded and the first design office was established. After the sale of the first strand pelletizer, Automatik exhibited for the first time at the 1959 K` Plastics Fair in Düsseldorf (see the photo below).
In the 1960s, the first utility model and patent applications were filed by the founder, Hans Hench Sr., and then the first automatic strand pelletizer (ASG) was followed by a self-threading underwater pelletizer (USG). For the production of modern synthetic fibers, the company supplied spinning pump drives, extruders and spinning beams. Due to an increase in demand, the company moved to Großostheim near the end of the 1960s, and that is where MAAG Germany is still located today.
The 1970s were a decade of growth. New production halls, offices, design buildings and an in-house training center were built, and on the world market, Automatik was increasingly making a name for itself. The granting of manufacturing licenses to the USA and Japan and the founding of the first subsidiary in Charlotte, North Carolina, laid the foundation for today's MAAG Group.
In 1983, the Swedish AB Nils Dacke Group took over the company and formed the Automatik Group, and in 1988, the MAAG Germany Technical Center was opened.
Following the takeover by the Swiss Rieter Group in the 1990s, the company was renamed Rieter Automatik. With the establishment of sales and service platforms in China and Malaysia, Rieter Automatik pursued the goal of being close to its customers, true to the motto, "we are where our customers are." In 1994, the company launched a PRIMO strand pelletizer for the first time, which is still the heart of many pelletizing systems today. New ground was broken with the DROPPO dripping system, which can produce spherical pellets from particularly low-viscosity melts and liquids.
In the 2000s, the company offered a third pelletizing process, underwater pelletizing. In addition to the tried-and-tested strand pelletizing and dropletizing, the new process was able to serve many more applications in the plastics industry.
Since 2010, the company has been part of the MAAG Group, which has its headquarters in Switzerland and was acquired by Dover Corporation in 2012. In 2015, the screen changer manufacturer, MAAG Pump Systems GmbH from Wettringen, was merged with Automatik Plastics Machinery GmbH to form MAAG Automatik. Since then, melt filters have been designed and manufactured in Großostheim. Additionally, the opening of new grinding centers and service centers in Taiwan, Brazil and India continue to help ensure that customers are served quickly and spare parts are readily available. Today, MAAG Germany develops systems that make it possible to keep as much plastic as possible in the recycling process.
"The know-how, the innovative spirit of the employees and our best-in-class solutions have been driving the company for 75 years," says Alaaddin Aydin, Managing Director and Vice President of MAAG Germany.
To celebrate this milestone, the company recently held an anniversary luncheon for employees and former colleagues.
About MAAG Group:
MAAG Group is a broadly diversified global solutions provider with integrated and customizable systems in process technology for the polymer, chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Its Pump & Filtration Systems, Pelletizing & Pulverizing Systems, Recycling Systems, and Digitalization divisions consolidate the many years of experience and in-depth know-how of the AUTOMATIK, ETTLINGER, GALA, MAAG, REDUCTION, SCHEER, and XANTEC product brands. The MAAG Group currently employs over 1,100 people at production sites in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, the USA, and China. Additional sales and service centers in France, Taiwan, Malaysia, India, Thailand and Brazil ensure close attention to customers’ needs. For more information, please visit www.maag.com.