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Shanghai, China — The Reifenhäuser booth was buzzing with activity at Chinaplas 2014."We're continuing to close deals," Bernd Reifenhäuser, company CEO, told PlasticsToday. "This show is a very good follow up to the K. We're continually to strongly invest in technology and it's paying back."

Heather Caliendo

April 29, 2014

3 Min Read
Chinaplas: Reifenhäuser CEO talks importance of R&D to longevity

Shanghai, China — The Reifenhäuser booth was buzzing with activity at Chinaplas 2014.

"We're continuing to close deals," Bernd Reifenhäuser, company CEO, told PlasticsToday. "This show is a very good follow up to the K. We're continually to strongly invest in technology and it's paying back."

At Chinaplas, the companies of the extrusion group showcased its latest features and system technologies for the production of blown film, cast film, sheets, film coatings, monofilaments, strapping tape, wood polymer composites, as well as extruders, screws and barrel. Presentations include the new cooling systems Evolution Ultra Cool and Evolution Ultra Cool FFS, and the Evolution Ultra Flat flattening unit, as well as complete mono to 11-layer production lines.

In addition, Reifenhäuser presented its new Mirex-MT polishing stack. For the Asian market, Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating sees especially high growth potential in cast films for surface protection.

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Bernd Reifenhäuser, company CEO, fully supports investing in R&D.

At the time of PlasticsToday's interview with Reifenhäuser, the company had sold about nine cast film lines and 10 blown film lines, which included two "big" agricultural lines.

The Chinese subsidiary, Reifenhäuser Plastic Machinery, is located in Suzhou and was expanded in April 2013. In addition to service, the company and its more than 20 employees also took charge of sales in China. A German engineer will join the team this month to further strengthen the subsidiary. As the head of sales and service, he will be responsible for sales, project management, technical customer consulting and the after-sales business. All of the company's machines are manufactured in Germany.

While in the beginning, most German machines were too expensive with too high of output for Chinese manufacturers, Reifenhäuser said that perception and expectation has changed. Now, with more modern automotive plants and a demand for packaging film that can offer shelf appeal, Chinese customers are requesting high quality machines. 

"China is moving fast and with that comes a demand for high technology and we're seeing that our technology is well received in the market," Reifenhäuser said. "There's an increasing focus on quality and we bring the German technical capabilities and manufacturing here."

Focused on global growth

China, as big of a market as it is, is just part of the overall strategy for the company.

"We sell worldwide - not just in one region or the other," Reifenhäuser said. "We have a very balanced sales presence worldwide."

Throughout the interview, Reifenhäuser emphasized the importance of new technology. And while many companies like to tout its technical expertise, the company did take a big initiative after the economic crisis in 2008 to focus on R&D. The company doubled its R&D budget and also bought a competitor, Kiefel, to increase its offerings.  

"We continue to push our technology further," he said. "It's our strong belief that plastic production demands a higher level of technology and we continue to invest in the manpower to do so."

Reifenhäuser hinted that there will be more news to come from the company in the next 12 to 24 months.

"We're continuing to think outside the box," he said. 

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