Van Dorn & Demag form new group. (In Brief: Your Business).

Demag Ergotech GmbH of Schwaig, Germany, and Van Dorn Demag Corp. of Strongsville, Ohio, have merged to form the Demag Plastics Group. The two firms had already agreed to close cooperation after their previous stint as separate, competing entities within the former Mannesmann Plastics Machinery Group. The new group is intended to achieve synergies in manufacturing, engineering, and marketing. Neither Van Dorn Demag nor Demag Ergotech will lose its brand identity. The Group will be represented by sales forces in the U.S. and Europe.

U.S. molders will now benefit from greater access to European developments, such as Demag Ergotech's multi-component presses and highspeed electric-hybrid El-Exis S machine. The two sister firms will also cooperate closely in development of new products, such as a basic hydraulic machine line starting at 28 tons. The El-Exis S high-speed machine has proven sufficiently popular that the Group plans to extend the size range beyond 462 tons to 1100 tons. Van Dorn's all-electric IntElect series will become a full line from 50 to 385 tons. Also, both companies' vertical machines will be blended into one line of presses from 30 to 400 tons.