Page1of the Press Release:
65 Years of ILLIG – a Global Thermoforming Pioneer and Technology Driver
65 Years of ILLIG – a Global Thermoforming Pioneer and Technology Driver
Heilbronn, 27 May 2011. – This year, May 27 marks the 65th company anniversary of ILLIG, the Heilbronn-based mechanical engineering company.Founded in 1946 by Adolf Illig as amechanical repair shop in his native city of Heilbronn/Germany, the enterprise has evolved into arenowned globalleader in high-performance machinery and tooling for thermoforming plastics, as well and in diverse solutions for the packaging industry. With more than20,000 machines shipped out worldwideto processors molding sophisticatedhigh-precisionthermoplastic articles for virtually all branches of industry and consumer needs, the ILLIG brand enjoyshigh market acceptance.Managed by Wolfgang Illig and Karl Schäuble – the founder's son and son-in-law, respectively – since the 1980s, thepacesettingthermoformingspecialist has remained a family-owned business to this day, with third generation family members now active in its operations.Of the company's global workforce of 750, the Heilbronn site employs 700 people, including 100 in research and development alone. ILLIG's worldwide network comprises wholly-owned branches in France, Great Britain and the U.S., own service bases in the Far East, Japan and Latin America, as well as commercial agencies in over 80 countries.
From garage workshop to global market leader
It was in 1946 that Adolf Illig started out repairing defective equipment and machinery of all descriptions in a workshop in his parents' garage. His main customers in those early days were Heilbronn companieswhose operations had been ravaged by the Second World WarAs early as in 1948, Adolf Illig launched his first own product, a pillar drilling machine. The shift to plastics processing, a technology still in its infancy at the time, came when a customer requesteda solution for molding plastic film and sheet stock. Thus, in 1956, ten years after having set up his repair shop, Adolf Illig built the first UA 100 vacuum forming machine, thereby laying the foundation for ILLIG's lasting success as a thermoforming specialist. Not long afterwards, in 1960, the R 650 was launched as the world's first roll-fed automatic vacuum forming machine; it was designed to mold lids from pre-printed stock. The first high-speed pressure former combining thermoforming and punching functions followed only 3 years later. It marked the birth of the successful RDM series, the present-generation models of which continue to set the standard in cost-efficient high-volume manufacturing, specifically of cups in any shape and size. In the late 1970s the machine range was expanded by adding the first packaging line to integrate thermoforming of basic packaging containers with the subsequent steps of filling (predominantly with pasty foodstuffs) and, ultimately, sealing them to obtain a finished retail product.
Until today, ILLIG has kept on redefining the limits of feasibility in thermoforming. One case in point are the company's third-generation thermoformers, combining greatly enhanced productivity due to the high repeatability of all settings with superior molding quality and improved energy efficiency.A particularly important innovation driver has always been the packaging sector. Its influence is reflected in morerecent developments such as the first molding and punching machines capable of thermoforming articles with distinct contour undercuts, as well as in the integration of IML decoration technology.
"Today, ILLIG offers a comprehensive range of proven equipment based on modular design and covering virtually any thermoforming application. With the expertise accumulated in our 65 years of corporate history, we remain committed, now and in the future, to the further development and improvement of this versatile technology", Karl Schäuble summarizes his optimistic view of the future.
ILLIG is a global leading supplier of high-performance equipment and tooling for thermoforming plastic materials as well as of solutions for the packaging industry. The company's product and services portfolio comprises the development, design, fabrication, installation and start-up of complex manufacturing lines and individual components. With wholly owned branch establishments and agencies in over 80 countries, ILLIG is locally present in all markets around the globe. For more than 60 years, this owner-managed enterprise has been serving its worldwide clientele as a reliable partner in cost-efficient thermoplastic molding of sophisticated precision parts backed by innovative technology of unsurpassed quality and a comprehensive worldwide after-sales support.
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Further information:
Wolfgang Konrad, Head of Corporate Communications and PR
ILLIG Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG, Robert-Bosch-Str. 10, D-74081 Heilbronn / Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 71 31 / 5 05– 2 36, Fax: - 12 36, E-mail:
Editorial contact and voucher copies:
Dr. Georg Krassowski, Konsens PR GmbH & Co. KG,
Hans-Kudlich-Str. 25, D-64823 Groß-Umstadt / Germany –
Phone.: +49 (0) 60 78 / 93 63 - 0, Fax: - 20, E-mail:
Dear Colleagues,
ILLIG press releases, comprising the text (in German and English) and images in
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Adolf Illig (centre foreground, with cap) amidst employees of the mechanical repair shop he opened in the garage of his parents' home in Heilbronn on May 27, 1946.
Fifty years of development have passed since the launch in 1960 of the first roll-fed automatic forming machine R650 (the photo at the top shows a RDM 37 model from the 1960s) and the RDK 90 roll-fed automatic unit (below) which combines thermoforming and punching action and represents the current 3rd machine generation. Its main application lies in the manufacture of trays (of the type sold millions of times over as sales and keep-fresh packaging for meat, vegetables, fruit, etc.) at a rate of 55 cycles/minute.
Photos: ILLIG
ILLIG Maschinenbau GmbH Co. KG, Robert-Bosch-Straße 10, D-74081Heilbronn/ Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 71 31 / 505 - 0, Fax: - 3 03, E-mail: –