The Protective Solutions division has now been around for 55 years – it´s hard to believe how quickly time has flown! It all began in 1970 with the search for a proprietary product. Responding to an ad, Otto Kurtz, then Managing Partner, met with Johann Friedrich Jegelka, who had the idea to develop an EPS foaming machine …
Despite initial skepticism on the part of raw material manufacturers and processors, the team believed in the project´s success and began developing the first machine – a 610D, which was built and launched in 1971. It featured a fixed steam chamber in the center and two movable chambers to the right and left of it, an absolute innovation at the time. This allowed for double the productivity on the same foaming area. The customer for the first system was the Buddenberg company in Bad Driburg, which remains a valued customer of ours to this day.
7,500 Shape Moulding Machines since the start of production
From the very beginning, the ability to adapt to existing mold systems on the market was absolutely essential and the key to our success. With internationalization – led by Walter Kurtz through the establishment of the first branches in the U.S. and the Far East – we achieved a breakthrough. Since then, over 7,500 shape moulding machines have been built. Over time, we have carried out a great deal of pioneering work, such as the use of upward-extraction systems, the development of LTH technology, ROTO FOAMER and PANEL FOAMER, the launch of machine manufacturing in Zhuhai (2004), and the construction of what was, at least at the time, the world´s largest foaming machine – a K3220 with a 6.4 m² foaming area, capable of simultaneously producing twelve 3-meter-long insulation panels in various thicknesses.
Today, we are the leading manufacturer of shape moulding machines, which are produced at three locations – in Germany, the U.S., and China. Just in time for our anniversary, which will be celebrated in style this fall, we are introducing the POLY FOAMER NX3 – a redesigned, consistently advanced generation of machines. We have retained proven features, such as the ability to accommodate different formats on the same platform using an interchangeable front chamber.
In addition, new features have been incorporated to allow the machine to be optionally equipped with configurations that previously required custom-built machines. The standard opening stroke has been increased by 100 mm, which benefits automated tool change and enables the production of deeper components.
POLY FOAMER NX3 available starting in Fall 2026
The first machine in this new series – the L-size model with maximum mold dimensions of 1,400 mm x 1,800 mm – will be available starting in October 2026. Next, at short intervals, come the PRO FOAMER L systems in the 5-bar version and the POLY FOAMER in size M. A key goal of our development was to create a machine with greater functionality while reducing the number of variants. The cost for the same equipment remains the same as for the current model.
