New generation multiwire drawing lines unveiled at Niehoff ENDEX Open House

For the past twenty years, Niehoff ENDEX North America, Inc. (NENA) has opened its doors to customers and partners for a biennial two-day Open House. The most recent Open House exhibition in November 2016 welcomed a record crowd of approximately 65 customers from 30 different companies to NENA’s factory and offices in Swedesboro, NJ. On the first day, a German style “Barn fest” with traditional music allowed the guests to network with NENA personnel, guests from the NIEHOFF Group’s headquarters in Schwabach, Germany, and other colleagues from the wire and cable industry.

The second day had a focus on four elements to create maximum benefit for the visitors. First, there was a set of presentations providing information on NIEHOFF machinery and processes as well as industry specific matters. Louisa Winnik, Senior Analyst Integer Research spoke about “Integer’s View on the North American Wire and Cable Market.” Then Stefan Nixdorf, Director of Engineering Maschinenfabrik NIEHOFF, presented “New Product Developments/Innovations at NIEHOFF.” NENA’s CEO Robert Wild followed with “Aluminum Multi-Wire Drawing and Annealing: Key Success Factors and Challenges.” Holger Junkereit, Managing Director of Schmidt Maschinenbau GmbH, presented “Specialty Drawing Machines and Wire Industry Equipment,” followed by Klaus Eichelmann, Managing Director of Reber Systematic GmbH and Co. KG, who spoke on "Filter-Media, the Right Selection Makes the Difference in Your Drawing Process!” Finally, Tom Whitcombe, VP Sales/Marketing of Baum's Castorine Co., Inc., finished the presentations with “Aluminum Wire Drawing: Oil Versus Emulsion.”

The second element of focus was a factory tour with demonstration of NIEHOFF machinery: A double twist buncher D 632, two braiders BMV, one NPS double spooler, and a complete rod breakdown line for aluminum and copper including an annealer. In addition, a multiwire line had been concealed from everybody’s view with a 20’ high black curtain.
As a third element, NENA representatives and partners from other companies – Buehler Redex, Reber Systematic GmbH, Schmidt Maschinenbau, Esteves Group USA, Baum’s Castorine Co., Inc., and Howar Equipment, Inc. – participated in tabletop presentations.

A new generation of multiwire drawing lines
The last element, and the highlight of the event, was the North American unveiling of the new generation of multiwire drawing lines type MMH 112 and RM 202. Hidden behind a 20’x90’ curtain for the earlier part of the day, an impressive “curtain drop” opened the view and stage to this latest development. Before showing this line working under production conditions at a speed of 8000 fpm, Bernd Lohmueller, Executive VP Sales and Marketing NIEHOFF, explained the details to the audience. For this line, NIEHOFF has made use of all possibilities offered by the latest state-of-the-art technology: Individually driven capstan modules, medium frequency technology for the annealer, modular design, and much more. This line, which represents the latest state of development of NIEHOFF’s new generation multiwire drawing machines, is now in the phase of extensive field testing.

NENA’s Executive Vice President and CEO, Robert Wild concluded after the Open House, “This year has been very special to us. We put a lot of effort and resources into this special Open House. Our reward is always to see so many customers, and to get such a positive feedback. We strongly believe that this kind of events reveal our abilities, and help us display what NENA is all about. This event also is our way to show our appreciation to our customers for their continued trust in our organization and for investing time and effort to join our celebration.”