Shibaura acquiring majority share in LWB Steinl

Tokyo – Japanese machinery maker Shibaura Machine has signed an MoU to acquire 80% of the shares in German injection moulding machinery producer LWB Steinl GmbH.

Under the agreement, Shibaura Machine will separate LWB Steinl’s mechanical engineering and automation divisions from the Steinl Group and integrate them into the partnership.

The Altdorf site in Germany’s Bavaria will remain operational, serving as European headquarters and production hub under new entity Shibaura Machine LWB GmbH, LWB Steinl announced 1 Oct.

All LWB Steinl employees will be retained, while Shibaura Machine also secured an option to acquire the remaining 20% of shares from the Steinl family in three years.

Both parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

“This step supports our strategic expansion into Europe,” said Dr Georg Holzinger, managing executive officer of Shibaura Machine and future CEO and president of the new entity.

The group, said Holzinger, specifically sought a German partner for its “standards of precision and quality.”

The acquisition is intended to expand Shibaura’s portfolio of all-electric and hydraulic injection moulding machines with vertical injection technology and automation solutions.

The move will also enable the processing of materials beyond thermoplastics, including rubber, silicone and elastomers.

Holzinger added that the Altdorf hub would allow the company to leverage LWB Steinl’s technology to strengthen competence in fully automated production cells.

The site would ensure compliance with European standards such as OPC UA and Euromap 77 and 82 while offering “market-compliant delivery times and competitive production costs.”

Commenting on the deal, LWB Steinl managing director Peter Steinl, said the plastics and rubber industry was undergoing “profound change,” with machines increasingly seen as commodity products.

“To remain competitive, companies must now position themselves strategically, maintaining high product quality while achieving cost efficiency,” he said.

The merger with Shibaura Machine will enable the company “build a strong foundation, through more efficient manufacturing and expanded global sales presence,” he said.

In particular, he said, the company will benefit from a global production network in Japan, China and India, with access to lower unit and labour costs as well as high-quality components such as injection units.

The partnership will also give LWB Steinl wider access to markets in Asia and the US.

Shibaura Machine will showcase at K 2025, to be held 8-15 Oct in Dusseldorf, Germany.

On display will be an automated production cell combining an LWB vertical injection moulding machine and a Shibaura industrial robot.

The company will also present what it described as its “next-generation” injection moulding technologies – the EC-SXIII all-electric series and the S-GenXt hydraulic series – along with a new line of auxiliary equipment and its ‘machiNetCloud’ Industrial IoT platform.