INDEX to rebuild tool holders in North America; Minnesota Rubber & Plastics to be acquired by Trelleborg; New hires, promotions

Trelleborg Group is acquiring U.S.-based Minnesota Rubber & Plastics, for $950 million on a cash and debt-free basis. “This is a step change for Trelleborg Sealing Solutions. The business area will be as strong in North America as its already established position in Europe,” says Peter Nilsson, president and CEO of Trelleborg Group. “Minnesota Rubber & Plastics complements and strengthens Trelleborg’s current position and product offering in a number of fast-growing industries. The company is a very good fit with our own business within precision seals, and the transaction is expected to generate significant synergies in terms of lower costs and higher production efficiency.”

Minnesota Rubber & Plastics was founded in 1945, has its headquarters and innovation center outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has a total of eight manufacturing facilities globally, four of which are in the U.S. and the remainder in Mexico, England, the Czech Republic, and China.

Scott P. Walrath has been hired as Ceratizit’s head of business development for the solid round tools division. Walrath brings 39 years of experience to the position including work with CNC programming and operating through product development and deployment with a focus on progressive and proprietary tool design. He’s also directed research and testing of tool coating technologies, substrates, and macro and micro geometries. As a solid round tool milling specialist, Walrath supervised the design and development of advanced-engineered end mill and shank tooling solutions for key manufacturers throughout North America. https://www.ceratizit.com

Joe Cisneroz to customer service general manager. In this role, Cisneroz is responsible for managing field service, service inside the sales and repair center, and service/parts invoicing and technical phone support.

Doug Conroy to director of information technology and business systems. Conroy will be responsible for overseeing company hardware, computer systems, and infrastructure as well as managing business applications, including MC Machinery’s remote monitoring and support solution remote360.

Dave Kloos to customer support general manager. In this role, Kloos manages installation, training, and field applications for all product lines.

Alexander Wright has joined the company as a regional sales representative for lasers, laser automation equipment, and press brakes. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, Wright covers Kansas, southern Illinois, and Missouri.

Erik Sweede hired as Northeast regional sales manager for EDM and machining. Based in Philadelphia, Sweede has more than 15 years of manufacturing sales experience and will represent New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Maryland, Delaware, Washington D.C., and Vermont.

North American tool holder rebuilds, previously processed at INDEX’s parent company in Germany, will now be done at a dedicated service department at INDEX’s North American headquarters in Noblesville, Indiana. By bringing this capability to the United States, the company expects to cut lead times for rebuilds by 50% to 70%.

When conducting a rebuild, INDEX engineers fully disassemble the tool holder, inspecting the housing and shafts and any internal mechanical component showing wear is replaced, ensuring the tool holder is fully restored to its original operating condition. This service, backed by a 6-month warranty, is available for tool holders sold with any INDEX machines, including its production turning centers, turn mills, CNC multi-spindles, and the TRAUB line of sliding-headstock lathes.

“We’ve had a lot of customers tell us that they want the level of quality we provide when rebuilding a tool holder, but they can’t wait the amount of time it takes to send their unit to Germany,” says Matt Voyles, director of customer support and operations at INDEX. “The investment we’ve made in creating a U.S.-based tool holder rebuild department provides an immediate and clear benefit to customers.”

Engineers performing rebuilds have been factory trained at INDEX’s global headquarters in Germany. Manufacturers wishing to receive a quote for a tool holder rebuild can log into their iXshop account or submit a request via email to spareparts@index-usa.com.