Trendgineering
LSR starts booming in China
| Helen Shi, Petra Rehmet
Great customers experiences at the Pioneers!Day in Jiaxing
Face-to-face interactive event, microsite on the Internet, WeChat stories, photo album in the cloud – the KraussMaffei team in Jiaxing / China pulled out all the stops for the LSR Pioneers!Day to impress customers with processing of liquid silicone rubber (LSR) . And it was warmly responded according to customers’ feedback and online survey.
Silicone is a growth market. Flexible, temperature-resistant and even bacterially resistant, the material provides great potential for medical technology and life science applications. It is also used where long-lasting flexibility (without plasticizers) is required. However, the processing of LSR demands some expertise because liquid silicone has extremely low viscosity, which is why the foam molds are generally sealed with a vacuum, and – in contrast to thermoplastic processing – they are heated because the cross-linking only starts in this state.
2-day event with more than 150 customers
There is much to discuss when you address the topic and the KraussMaffei team in China invited more than 150 customers to witness the real machine demo for six different LSR applications, also to exchange information and ideas within the framework of a two-day event. Together with partners Wacker Chemicals, Bohler, 2KM, and Elkem, a seminar under the motto Switch to Sustainability was held and showed the possibilities of the technology and innovative developments along the value chain.
A wide variety of applications, geometrically and in terms of process technology, ran on six all-electric PX SilcoSets with baby pacifiers, plugs for blood collection tubes, suction cups and even lenses for lamps of miners.
Interactive Microsite
The microsite for the event, where interested individuals could find videos, descriptions, and brochures on the topic, attracted over 4,000 visitors and over 3,000 people read stories that were posted on WeChat (the Chinese equivalent to WhatsApp). Whoever was at the event could also take a look at the TechCenter and obtain information about the general product portfolio of KraussMaffei.
Positive customer feedback
The feedback from customers and partners was very positive and Carlio Xu, Vice President of Product Owner & Pricing, explains that the showcased machines and application were specially adapted to the needs of the Chinese market. There is a desire to further pursue the developments in this area with partners.
The TechCenter in Jiaxing will definitely play an important role. On 1,200 square meters machines and experts are available in order to assist customers with new products or tests. The triumph of LSR Pioneers!Day paved the way for the future market success in China.