It all began in 1966 with the first strapping machine and a two-man operation. Today - almost 50 years later - Mosca GmbH from Waldbrunn offers a product range that extends from classic strapping machines to specialised high-performance systems, including high-quality strapping.
Since its founding days, the company has continuously set new standards for the entire strapping industry as a system provider in the field of transport securing. Around 800 employees at 16 locations around the world - from Europe, Asia and Australia to North and Central America - are committed every day to providing customers with the best possible partners when it comes to transport securing. Strapping and transport securing to be. Thanks to their experience and expertise, the strapping experts are constantly finding new, application-orientated system solutions.
Starting your own business
As with many of today's successful medium-sized companies, it all started with Gerd Mosca the desire to be „your own boss“ and create something of your own. Mosca has been involved in bundling a wide variety of goods since the early days of the company. The company's roots lie in the construction of tying machines: packaged goods were manually inserted into the machines, and in the subsequent tying process, a cotton or PE cord was placed around the product and knotted.
Tying machines were part of Mosca's portfolio for a long time: Equipped with food-safe cotton cords, they are ideal for use in the meat industry, for example. In order to offer its customers the most versatile solutions possible for reliable transport securing, Gerd Mosca soon expanded its range to include strapping machines.
A pioneering spirit was required here, because with the state of the art at the time, these usually weighed well over a tonne, were rather slow and unreliable and required bandwidths that were disproportionate to the product they were supposed to bundle for reasonably reliable operation. Thanks to Gerd Mosca and his company, this soon changed.
Paving the way for pioneering technologies
Many of the specifications that are now fundamental to strapping technology originated in Waldbrunn: for example, the use of inline technology (1992) enables the gentle strapping of corrugated cardboard products „along the wave“. This prevents damage to the structure of the corrugated cardboard, which can be caused by the strapping. The company is one of the pioneers of this technology and is still the global market leader today.
In the 1990s, Mosca began equipping its units with wear-free direct drives using direct current technology. The result? Particularly economical operation with maximum reliability. Introduced by the specialists in Waldbrunn, these drives are now the industry standard. When it comes to naming, however, traces of the early days can still be found today: the „RO“, for example, which can be found in the machine designation of numerous models, stands for „Rondomat“: this was the name of the first strapping machines from Waldbrunn.
Unique to date: Strapping with ultrasound
„We are constantly redefining the limits of strapping,“ explains Timo Mosca, who has been managing the second generation of the family business since 1993. Together with his wife Simone Mosca, also Managing Director, he is driving the continuous development of the company. „In 2007, for example, we introduced the SoniXs unit, a unique ultrasonic technology for the strapping industry, for which we also hold the patent.“
SoniXs units transmit high-frequency vibrations to the ends of the plastic belt, creating a tear-resistant joint. Unlike traditional hot wedge technology, the ends of the tape do not have to be melted. Machines with SoniXs technology are particularly fast, efficient and energy-saving.
„Developing a technology like this, bringing it to market maturity and establishing it on the market takes patience,“ explains Managing Director Timo Mosca. „As a family business, we have the freedom to invest several years in such a development if we believe in its long-term success.“
The market launch of SoniXs also enabled important follow-up developments: Mosca is also the only provider of ultrasonic welding that can sell a strapping machine made exclusively from oxidation-free components. It is only thanks to ultrasonic welding that Mosca can dispense with the oxidation-prone hot wedge unit.
„Despite our innovative drive for development, we always remain true to our roots and values as a traditional family business. This is how we guarantee stability and continuity,“ explains Timo Mosca.
Particularly sustainable
For many years, the Waldbrunn-based company has also focussed on sustainable processes. „Our aim is to continue to expand our pioneering role as a technology leader to include sustainable behaviour and production,“ says Timo Mosca. „That's why the topic of sustainability under the name ‚Responsible Production‘ firmly anchored in our corporate philosophy. We introduced our in-house technology label GETInside in 2011 - at the same time as the production of our 100,000th machine - as a visible indication of machines from our company that are particularly sustainable,“ explains the expert. They can also be used to process „green“ PET strapping made from recycled materials.
More than one belt for all occasions
Exactly this PET straps has been produced by Mosca in Muckental in the Odenwald since 2008 in one of the most modern production facilities in the world: fully automated, round the clock and, above all, sustainable. „This plant fulfils our claim to sustainable production in many ways,“ explains Timo Mosca. „For example, we have installed a solar panel area of around 2,500 m2 on the huge roof of the production hall, which feeds electricity into the grid via three converters. In theory, we don't need any more energy to produce our PET straps than our plant's own photovoltaic system produces.“
Mosca produces PET strapping in a width of 9.5 mm to 15.5 mm. It is made from one hundred per cent recycled material, is temperature-stable and is used in a wide range of industries. As they also guarantee high strength and elasticity for optimum load securing, they can be used for strapping paper and corrugated cardboard stacks as well as for pallets with more solid packages, such as bricks, wood or cans. It doesn't matter whether the sealing is carried out using a hot wedge or ultrasound: PET strapping is suitable for every process.
PP tapes are available in widths from 5 mm to 15 mm. They are environmentally friendly, food-safe and free of harmful substances. With the customer's needs always in mind, the 5 mm wide PP standard strap is offered with a running length of up to 8,000 m on a roll instead of the usual running length of 6,500 m thanks to a new winding technology. The strapping experts also supply PLA strapping in various strap widths: They consist of a biocompatible polylactide plastic made from renewable raw materials and can be industrially composted after use.
Focus on standardisation
One of the latest highlights is the new generation of machines Evolution is the centrepiece: The focus is on standardising the belt path, which consists of the same components for all available machine models. Its open and easily accessible design simplifies machine maintenance and cleaning work. The fact that it can be dismantled and reassembled without tools in just a few simple steps makes assembly quick and easy.
Other core machine assemblies such as the unwinder, pre-spooler, belt magazine and belt guide frame have also been standardised and are therefore the same in all variants of the new machine generation. The new belt path and the standardisation of the individual components are groundbreaking for all future Mosca machines.
„The modular design of the Evolution enables us to offer our customers even greater flexibility in models with a wider range of applications, while at the same time increasing our service performance,“ confirms Timo Mosca. „Thanks to ever greater standardisation of core assemblies and our functional common parts concept, we can deliver top quality at attractive prices.“
Change as a challenge
The fact that Mosca's developments always go that decisive step further was proven once again last year: with the introduction of Base and Pro models of various fully automatic strapping machines, the company ensures the highest quality from the first to the last step. Entry-level to high-end range. Both model versions utilise a maximum number of identical components. In combination with SoniXs ultrasonic technology, the Base and Pro therefore guarantee reliably high-quality strapping results. All innovations from Waldbrunn are based on decades of experience, the expertise of our employees and a results-orientated corporate philosophy.
„Only by constantly improving our products and processes can we offer our customers the best possible solutions, both technologically and economically, in the long term,“ says Timo Mosca. „To this end, we welcome change with confidence and see change as a challenge - this is the only way we can remain open to future solutions that have not even been thought of yet.“
