China’s moldmaking bonanza plays in DME’s favor

The moldmaking industry in China continues to grow, even as it also bounces back in North America and Europe, sign that a growing global economy can lift moldmakers' ships around the world. Here in Guangzhou at this year's Chinaplas trade show, Bruce Wasilewski, managing director for DME's operations in Asia, Europe and North America, spoke with PlasticsToday about how his company has changed to better serve the Chinese moldmaking market.

One key to DME's ongoing success here, said Wasilewski, has been the company's ability to transition in the past few years from mostly a supplier of components, to its greater focus now on supply of hot runners. "We've a lot of concentration here on our hot runners," he said at his company's stand at the show. "We've really transitioned here from a supplier of components, to a supplier of hot runners."

One of the stand's highlights was the first showing in China of DME's new valve gate design. He explained that the new design is especially useful in easing maintenance on these, a plus point as molds made here often are put to work 1000s of miles away from where they we built.

"Our Chinese-made hot runners can be serviced anywhere.... This is increasingly important as more mold build programs move here," he explained. Like many following the injection molding industry, Wasilewski also has heard of a number of high-end moldmaking programs being moved from China to North America, especially, or Europe, but these remain an exception to the rule.

One of the company's senior engineers recently moved back to China to help drive the company's hot runner program there so that, now, design work on these also can be handled in China. DME has been active in the country for more than 25 years and three years ago bought out its partner. Its main offices are in Shenzhen but it also has two other sales/service offices.

DME does weekly air shipments of parts to its Shenzhen offices, where it has a large warehouse to stock parts most often requested. Air shipment remains the best means to stay flexible in handling customers' requests, he said. In China the company outsources most of its manufacturing to local partners.