Big order marks a big year for W. Amsler Equipment

The Beatles sang “It was 20 years ago today” back in the 60s, turning 20^th anniversaries into big deals ever since.

Blow molding machine maker W. Amsler Equipment Inc. hit 20 this year, and promptly made the event a big deal of its own by landing one of its largest orders ever. Between September 2013 and March 2014, the Richmond Hill, Ont.-based company delivered five of its new L32 convertible PET stretch blow molding machines to PET bottle maker Triumbari Corporation, of Bolton, Ont.

Amsler was founded in August 1994 by Swiss-born moldmaker and blow molding technician Werner Amsler. Currently numbering 20 employees in a 17,000-square-foot plant, the company manufactures reheat stretch-blow molding machines and auxiliary equipment for blow molders of PET containers for the beverage, personal care, household products, detergent, chemicals, and food industries; and also supplies complete turnkey blow molding systems and filling lines. The firm has accumulated more than a few steady customers in both Canada and the U.S. over the past two decades, but its relationship with Triumbari is turning into one of those beautiful friendships they told us about in Casablanca. “Triumbari first approached us in 2010, looking to replace an older Mag-Plastic Machinery blow molding machine, and we sold them a used two-cavity unit,” said Heidi Amsler, the company’s sales and marketing manager. “They’ve been coming back to us ever since to replace Mag-Plastic blow molders – which stopped making machines in 2011 – and ADS blow molders.”

And they came back most recently for Amsler’s latest machine offering. Designed for custom blow molders of PET containers with small to medium size requirements, the three-cavity L32 blow molders sold to Triumbari are the successor units to Amsler’s two-cavity stretch blow molding machine, although the latter are still being built. “The L32 machines are all-electric and feature servo-driven electric stretch rods rather than the pneumatic type,” Heidi Amsler said. “At a rate of 3,600 two-litre bottles per hour, the machine produces 50 per cent more containers than a two-cavity unit. It can also be used to run one-cavity and two-cavity molds for production of five-litre and three-litre containers, respectively. Neck sizes range up to 48 mm.” With the same compact footprint as a two-cavity, the L32 can replace a conventional two-cavity unit for only a slight upcharge, she added.

As the L32s attest, Amsler isn’t showing any signs of rust two decades in. The company also recently obtained its first CNC milling machine, which means it no longer has to rely on outside vendors for its machined parts; and is finalizing a service contract with former competitor Mag-Plastic Machinery. “We will be providing service for the Mag blow molders in Canada and the U.S., with help from a new service technician from Mag who is transitioning over to Amsler,” Heidi Amsler said.

Behind the scenes, meanwhile, Werner Amsler is still being innovative at the helm – he picked up an Innovator of the Year award from the Canadian Plastics Industry Association in 2010 for his efforts – and the second generation of Heidi and brother Jason Amsler are surging on the administrative and technical fronts, respectively.

The next Beatles-inspired landmark for the firm to hit? Quite possibly “When I’m 64”.