Canadian Plastics

Wittmann Battenfeld machinery stolen en route to NPE2015

Canadian Plastics   

Plastics Processes NPE2015

NPE2015 can only get better for processing and auxiliary equipment maker Wittmann Battenfeld Inc.

With only 10 days to go before the trade show opens in Orlando, Fla., one of 15 tractor trailer truckloads of Wittmann Battenfeld machinery and equipment being driven down to the event venue from the company’s U.S. headquarters in Torrington, Conn., has been stolen en route.

According to Wittmann Battenfeld, the Florida State Police notified the company on March 12 that one of the trucks carrying its equipment for the show had been stolen. “It had been parked in a staging area within a locked security fencing in Daytona; the trailer was connected to a brand new Peterbilt truck,” Wittmann said in a statement. “When the driver came to the yard in the morning, he found someone had broken through the fencing and stolen his truck and the Wittmann Battenfeld trailer.” The trailer had contained two molding machines, an EcoPower 300 ton and a brand new SmartPower model to debut at NPE2015. Also on board were a show mold, a W832 New Pro series robot and some display stands.

“The thieves took the truck and trailer down the road and dropped the trailer,” the company continued. “Unfortunately, they dropped it on a soft sand bank on the side of the road, the trailer heaved forward, and the massive weight of the 300-ton molding machine pitched the trailer over onto its side. The machines were damaged.”

The damaged trailer.

The damaged equipment.

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The good news is that, within eight hours of receiving the news, the company had arranged to ship another 300 ton EcoPower Servo molding machine, from the company’s Tech Center in South Elgin, Ill.; a replacement EcoPower 55 ton machine from the Connecticut inventory; and a new robot and display stands, also from the Connecticut headquarters.

“All of this machinery and equipment was prepped and made ready to ship for [March 13] to keep Wittmann Battenfeld’s NPE2015 booth on track,” the company said.

NPE 2015 runs from March 23-27 at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center.

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