Protection perfection KASIGLAS

PROTECTION PERFECTION

German-based plastic forming and coating expert KRD is expanding its production capacity in order to bring its security-focused KASIGLAS® products to a wider audience. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to CFO Armin Meibauer and quality manager Dr Jürgen Schmitz to find out more.

Founded in Germany in 1967 by Gerd Brammer and his wife Elsbeth, plastic forming and coating company KRD Sicherheitstechnik is one of the two companies that together make up the KRD company group. Complemented by the technical abilities of its sister company, KRD Coatings, it focuses on the forming, coating and machining of plastics for a wide variety of applications. KRD’s founder’s daughter Korinna Brammer and her husband Bernhard Bitsch are now proudly continuing to run the company her father established.

Mr Brammer is widely considered to be something of a genius when it comes to innovative plastic coatings. His vision to make windows more resistant to impact and force, and so much safer, underpins the continued success of KRD. CFO Armin Meibauer told Industry Europe, “Mr Brammer is now 74 years old and still involved in the day-to-day operation of the business, with his daughter at the helm. It’s a powerful combination that adds a terrific strength to the company, as well as ensuring to keep the expertise of our founder and other long-term employees. Furthermore, even the 14-year-old junior Mark shows up from time to time within our company to make his first experiences.”

Strategic development

KRD was originally dedicated to delivering automotive industry solutions for tyres and brakes, with some participation in windows, but this gradually evolved to the present day activity of a complete focus on plastic safety glazing for automotive and other applications. Mr Meibauer continued, “It was in the 1970s that the riots in Germany sparked a necessary interest in the safety of police vehicles, and Mr Brammer was keen to harness this opportunity and bring added safety features to the German automotive industry. It was clear that professions such as the police needed increased safety in their vehicles, as the glass or plastic windows available at that time could easily be shattered, causing problems and injury, or easily be scratched, decreasing the visibility.”

This progression into the safety glazing arena highlights KRD’s appreciation of how it can use its professional and technical experience to bring added safety characteristics to various vehicles. The company manufactures windows for police cars, as well as machinery for the forestry and construction industries, as its core products, and has an increasingly successful plastic sheet business. Here, KRD is able to provide its thick sheets in various sizes up to three by seven metres, with a broad range of coatings and functionality available.

Dr Schmitz said, “KRD is the only company in Europe that can offer such a flexible service. Our plastic sheets and especially our laminated plastic safety glazing KASI-SCS®-V (SCS: Safety Compound System; V for German “Verbund”, means laminate) are suited to all manner of security-focused applications. Our ability to coat such large plates in whatever coating the customer requires truly sets us apart from the competition.”

Manufacturing all its plastic safety glazing and sheets at its Geesthacht head office and production facility just 30 minutes from Hamburg, KRD distributes its products across the whole of Europe. Buying the raw materials and then adding the specialist thermoforming and coating is how KRD is able to meet its customers’ exact needs at an affordable price.

Partnerships in quality

As the producer of exclusive, high quality thermoformed and coating plastic glazing and sheets, KRD works with some of the automotive industry’s most famous brands, including Bugatti, Lamborghini, Audi and Porsche. The company also has a long-term partnership with agricultural machinery company John Deere.

Mr Meibauer added, “John Deere is well known for its focus on quality and performance, so the fact that it has chosen to use KASIGLAS® safety glazing for its machines speaks volumes about the performance and reliability of our products. Our KASIGLAS® windows are used particularly in the ‘Harvester’ machine portfolio, which are used for tree cutting on a large scale, so considerable protection is needed for the driver or operator. Our glazed polycarbonate gives the incredible strength required without any type of metal construction.”

With the KASIGLAS® core product of glazed polycarbonate sheets offering considerable weight and safety benefits over glass, the company’s plan for the coming months and years is to highlight these benefits to a wider audience. Its present active market is the whole of Europe, but with its domestic German market representing at least 80 per cent of its sales, Mr Meibauer is aiming to increase its export business, particularly in the UK, France, Scandinavia and throughout the Mediterranean area.

In addition to its current home the company will extend their facilities by four new stateof-the-art production halls in autumn 2012 while adding much-needed extra capacity. Mr Meibauer concluded, “We take it for granted that security is an increasing business as people are focusing on their safety in more and more aspects of their lives. For example, we are working on an innovative product which is a personal helmet with weapon protection built in, and we know that making current products lighter is also important for us.” Dr Schmitz added, “Our active participation in the current ECE43 regulation campaign, aiming to allow more kinds of plastic glazing to obtain official type approvals in automotive applications, highlights our commitment to meeting the most stringent international standards, which will stand us in good stead for our increasing international expansion.” n

Bayer MaterialScience GmbH

Bayer MaterialScience GmbH develops, produces and sells Makrolon® polycarbonate sheets, Axpet® and Vivak® polyester sheets, as well as Bayloy® high-quality plastic sheets.

Kasiglas is a reliable partner for us when specialized coating and forming is needed for our Makrolon® polycarbonate sheets in security-focused applications such as agricultural machinery, glazed pc-sheets in the automotive industry e.g. roofing or windows as well as security glazing.

In addition, Bayer MaterialScience products can also be found in industrial applications such as protective visors, machinery protective covers, lamp covers, and housings. In the construction sector Bayer MaterialScience

Applications of Bayer MaterialScience products for the construction sector include e.g. sports stadiums and train stations.

Bayer MaterialScience GmbH is a 100% subsidiary of Bayer MaterialScience AG.