Borche bids to be next big Chinese press maker in North America

Chicago—The first full year of North American sales for Chinese-made injection molding machine maker, Borche, has been "phenomenal", according to Larry Mermuys, managing director of Borche North America. With production capacity of more than 15,000 machines/year from its 1.8-million-sq-ft plant in Guangzhou, the 10-year-old Borche ranks itself as the third largest maker of injection molding machines in the world, behind its fellow Chinese counterparts, Haitian and Chen Hsong.

The company made its show debut at NPE 2012, and so far this year has participated in UBM Canon plastics events in Anaheim, Toronto, Philadelphia, and Chicago, in addition to Plastimagen in March in Mexico City. Speaking with PlasticsToday at PLASTEC Midwest in Chicago, Mermuys said so far in 2013 between 40 and 50 Borche injection molding machines have been sold into North America, with 500-ton machines being the most popular model.

"Cost is what gets them," Mermuys said of new customers. "They want quality; they want proven; but it is the number." Depending on machine and its setup, Mermuys estimated that the Borche machines come in 10-20% less expensive than their closest Chinese competitors, while having an even bigger price differential than machines from the U.S., Europe, or Japan.

Mermuys stressed that the all servo-driven machines, provide energy saving that can give a molder a return on their investment in three-and-a-half years. Mermuys said Borche makes machines from 60 to 6050 tons in clamp force, including all-electric systems, two platen, and multicomponent (up to five materials) presses, although none of those have sold in the U.S. at this time.

Next up in North America for the company will be all-electric injection molding machines, with a high-speed line of machines currently undergoing tests in China. At the Chinaplas show this spring in Guangzhou, a prototype high-speed press molded inmold labeled parts in a 5.3-second cycle.

The company maintains machine inventory in Hamilton, ON; Troy, MI; and Ontario, CA, keeping presses sized up to 700 tons in stock. It has six sales representatives in North America, including one dedicated to China, and two dedicated service professionals.