The Wood Business Unit at Dieffenbacher - a mechanical and plant engineering group with more than 1,700 employees and 16 production sites and sales offices worldwide - specializes in planning and implementing end-to-end systems for manufacturing wood-based panels such as particleboards, OSB, MDF and LVL. The MRZ knife ring flaker is the first joint design project between the unit and design firm defortec. It is also the perfect complement to the Fibercon, Fiberforge and Fiberpress products that Dieffenbacher’s Composites Business Unit produces for manufacturing fiber-reinforced plastic components and which have already been successfully redesigned themselves.

The clear, lightweight and dynamic design of the MRZ highlights its functionality, while also enhancing it by making it easier for maintenance staff to access the machine and thus ensuring increased occupational safety. This innovative design also won over the international panel of judges at the Design Center Baden-Wuerttemberg, which singled out the MRZ for the Focus Open Silver Award 2018. "The iconic design and powerful appearance of the MRZ, coupled with the outstanding performance of our FlowOptimizer technology, will set a new benchmark for knife ring flakers," announced Alexander Hoffmann, managing director of Maier - the Dieffenbacher Group's reduction technology specialist - after receiving the prize at the awards ceremony on 12 October. Stefan Grobe, managing director of defortec, added: "By adopting a dynamic and clear design approach, we have created a distinctive look that instantly whips up enthusiasm for the design and the Dieffenbacher brand."

Dieffenbacher GmbH Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (75031 Eppingen, Germany)
Website: www.dieffenbacher.com