Injection molding machine builder Engel (Chinaplas booth 11J41) and sister brand Wintec are doubling production capacity in China via a phase-three expansion. The project is scheduled for completion at its Changzhou plant in Jiangsu Province by the end of 2023. The new capacity will be utilized for production of both the Engel and Wintec brands, according to Gero Willmeroth, Engel’s President for East Asia and Oceania. With capacity built out in Shanghai, the Changzhou plant is already used to manufacture Engel e-mac all-electric machines. With the new capacity, Engel duo machines also will now be manufactured there.

Willmeroth also reported that Engel had record revenues of €1.7 billion in the year to March 2023, compared with €1.5 billion in fiscal year 2022. Globally, 50% of sales were in Europe, with 29% in the Americas supported by automotive growth in North America, and 19% in Asia. Of Engel Group sales in Asia, 90% of the machines sold there are also built in Asia at production sites in China and Korea.

Speaking at the same pre-Chinaplas media event in Shenzhen over the weekend, Markus Fuchs, President, Sales and Service at Wintec, also noted that the standard brand of the Engel Group has established a truly global footprint nine years since its initial release, with the 1000th e-win machine having shipped in 2022 and 70% of production now exported from China. Wintec focuses on standard, one-shot applications, with automotive accounting for 62% of shipments, and 35% for “technical molding.” Such standard applications account for 80 to 85% of injection molding applications globally, according to Fuchs.

Engel has four machines on the show floor at Chinaplas, including a 500-tonne duo 2460/500 molding an automotive component that is part of an auto heads-up display. One factor behind the Changzhou expansion is increasing demand for machines to mold large auto parts such as front- and rear-end exterior components, according to Willmeroth. “Examples of larger components also come from the automotive lighting sector; namely, long light strips are increasingly becoming design elements,” he added.

Engel is also showcasing its expertise in multi-cavity molding with an e-mac 465/180 press molding flash-free seals from liquid silicone rubber (LSR) in an impressive 128-cavity tool. In a step-down to 64 cavities, an e-mac 1340/280 is also on show, demonstrating processing of blood collection tubes from PET resin on a relatively small, 280-tonne injection molding machine.

Exhibit four from Engel is a production cell centered on a vertical Engel Insert 500V/100 injection machine, demonstrating the machine builder’s capability to accommodate market demands for higher degrees of automation.

Wintec machines on show include a 4,500-tonne e-win 4500-3300 unit molding a medical device screen frame from PC/ABS alloy in a 55-second cycle time with a 260-g shot weight. The second Wintec exhibit is a 1400-tonne e-win 14000-7000 injection molding a polypropylene (PP) interior door panel in a one-shot process with a shot weight of 650 g.

Chinaplas 2023 runs from April 17 to 20 at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center.