Düsseldorf — Making good on its previously-announced aspiration to become the world's leading suppliers of all-electric injection molding machines, China's Haitian (15/A41) is constructing a mammoth production plant dedicated to their manufacture in its home city of Ningbo.
Speaking at a press event at the K trade fair, Haitian's CEO Professor Helmar Franz said the new 120,000-sq-m plant would be operational at the beginning of 2014 with capacity for 10,000 machines annually. "In the future, our two main machine types will be all-electric and two platen presses," said Franz. The new all-electric machine plant is a key initiative in the company's strategy to be top in this market segment and compete with Japanese machine builders who currently head the market.
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| Haitian's Franz: The future is all-electric and two-platen. |
Haitian was also highlighting the reproducibility attainable with its all-electric machines. A standard 90-tonne Venus all-electric machines boasts a shot weight consistency of 0.29% (0.04 g) for a polyamide 12 cable tie weighing 14g and injection molded in an eight-cavity tool. This compares with 1.53% for a hydraulic press. Haitian's Mercury high-performance plunger type all-electric press, meanwhile, claims a consistency of 0.04% (0.006g).
Franz said Haitian is experiencing dynamic growth for its Venus all-electric series, with 445 machines shipping in the first half of 2013, versus 352 in H1 of 2012. Cumulative sales have reached 3000 units.
Separately, Haitian is constructing a second new plant in Ningbo dedicated to the manufacture of its Jupiter large two-platen machines with a floor area of 150,000 sq m. This facility will be operational in 2015.
The machine builder currently offers machines with clamping forces of up to 6600 tonnes. Smaller 550, 750, and 950-tonne machine will be available from 2014. The latest Jupiter II iteration features and optional removable tiebar and a new locking systems said to be fast and precise.
Currently, servo-driven hydraulic machines sold under the Mars brand account for 79% of the company's unit sales, with monthly shipments of around 2500 machines. The drive mechanism is featured as standard on its machines. In the first half of 2013, Haitian delivered more than 13,600 machines, representing a more than 20% year-on-year increase.
China market turns to local machine vendors
Franz also noted a transformation in the injection machine market structure in China had come about. Prior to the financial crisis, in 2008, 51% of the China market was catered to by foreign press makers. The overall market was 34,687 units back then. Come the financial crisis in 2009 and machine shipments in China slumped to 29,233 units, with 71% being locally sourced. Many thought this was a temporary phenomenon but in subsequent years, local Chinese machine vendors have maintained their market share. In 2012, 73% of the 49,385 injection machines shipped were manufactured by Chinese companies. This trend appears reflects growing technological gains being made by local vendors as well as Haitian's strong market position in China.
