Motion plastics specialist sets new sales record

(See igus at Machine Building North, 10 April 2025, on stand 54)

These include PTFE-free materials, a complete energy chain series made from recycled materials, and even a humanoid robot. This achievement stems from continuous investment in research and development, aimed at providing customers with cutting-edge solutions.

Despite the challenging political and economic landscape of 2024, igus increased its number of active customers by 5% and maintained its billion-euro turnover.

"The changing political and economic conditions have impacted us," says Matthew Aldridge, Managing Director at igus in Northampton. "Like many of our customers, we are focusing on savings and efficiency, such as increased automation in our factory.

"However, our focus remains: What's in it for the customer? These challenges motivate us to innovate and enhance our competitiveness and that of our customers. This year, igus is introducing a record number of motion plastics products and continues to invest in research, development, and production of new technical solutions.

The Cologne site, where we manufacture, test, and research, now spans 218,000m2, including a new 20,000m2 test laboratory, the largest in the industry."

On track to CO2 neutrality

igus has reached 92% of its goal to be CO2-neutral in HQ buildings and production by the end of 2025, measured against Scopes 1 and 2. "We need to improve further," says Aldridge. "In Germany, we're implementing many sustainability measures, including a new multi-storey car park with faade greening, modernising buildings with photovoltaic systems, and expanding our MHRS system to heat buildings using waste heat from machines."

Environmentally friendly solutions such as PTFE-free versions of their standard plain bearing materials are also being presented. Regarding energy chains, igus is also converting its entire E2.1 series to recycled material consisting of post-consumer recyclate, such as old fishing nets, and disused energy chains, which the company recycles as part of its own 'Chainge' programme. This reduces the CO2 footprint by 80%.

With the igus Mobile Shore Power Outlet (iMSPO), igus has also developed a mobile 'socket' for the shore power supply of container and cruise ships. The system is already in use in ports such as Hamburg, Rotterdam and Singapore and has been nominated for this year's Hermes Award. igus is also driving forward new solutions for dry cleanrooms, increasingly important in battery production lines. Together with the Fraunhofer IPA, the company has developed a new type of certificate that confirms the cleanroom suitability of igus e-chains in long-term tests. These chains can withstand over 15million double strokes with minimal particle emissions.

At a time when many companies are having to make savings, igus is investing in the development of cost-effective products for its customers. This includes the new glide-chain G4.42 for simple gliding applications such as indoor cranes, with up to 30 metres travel. Its optimised design means it is not only up to 25% lighter, but also around 40% more cost-effective than standard chains of the same dimensions from the E2 and E4 product range.

The company is also currently developing its first humanoid robot made of high-performance plastic, based on the mobile robot ReBeL Move. This means that it can be deployed and operated at different workstations- with a return on investment of less than one year.