FRIMO and Schuler form 'Composites Alliance'

This 'Composites Alliance' will pool the know-how and experience of FRIMO and Schuler for the processing of composite materials. The two companies hope to exploit synergies and tap new markets.

Oct 19 2011 --- A new alliance was agreed at the Composites Europe fair (Stuttgart September 27 – 29, 2011) between Schuler SMG GmbH & Co. KG, a member of the Schuler Group, and the FRIMO Group GmbH. In future, both companies will offer their customers tailored turnkey solutions from a single source for the mass manufacturing of lightweight components. This 'Composites Alliance' will pool the know-how and experience of FRIMO and Schuler for the processing of composite materials. The two companies hope to exploit synergies and tap new markets. The product spectrum ranges from pre-forming and pre-cutting to the actual forming process, for example for the manufacturing of carbon fiber reinforced plastic parts or the processing of nylon composite sheets.

“The alliance enables us to offer complete systems for the field of composites processing,” says Manfred Wischnewski, Managing Director of Schuler SMG GmbH & Co. KG. “FRIMO is the ideal partner for us. In the field of plastics processing, automation and die technology, FRIMO has many years of expertise and a strong reputation on the market. We are firmly convinced that this alliance will bring our customers considerable benefits.”

“We regard Schuler as the best-possible partner, as we fit perfectly with regard to press construction and downstream processes,” adds Hans-Günter Bayer, CEO of the FRIMO Group GmbH. “Schuler is the number one in metalforming, while we are the plastics specialists. Both companies are extremely well integrated with the OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers.”

Customers will benefit from the extended possibilities of 'one-stop shopping', such as fewer interfaces, better CAD connections and optimized processes. In their respective fields, both partners offer leading know-how and an extensive range of references in the automobile and aviation industries, as well as for rail-mounted vehicles and other applications.

”Our many years of experience in the automation of press processes rounds out the spectrum of benefits for the customer,” says Uwe Krause, Head of FRIMO’s Automation division.

“When two leading specialists work together it can only result in premium quality,” states Hans-Günter Bayer. “In everything we do, Schuler and FRIMO always want to be the leaders,” adds Manfred Wischnewski. And this is sure to be the case in many projects together in future – for the benefit of our customers.