Chinaplas: Davis-Standard focusing on increasing local presence & capabilities in China

Preston emphasized that the company is currently undergoing a transformation. A greater focus has been made on turning the Pawcatuck, CT-based company into more of a global entity.

"We're embracing Asia and making China our home," said Bob Florence, executive VP of global sales and marketing for Davis-Standard. "Bob mentioned we have been investing quite heavily in the transformation of our company and part of that is in Asia-Pacific."

In 2012, the company moved into its new manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China. The 4300 sq m (46,000 sq ft) facility features sales, technical support, equipment production, aftermarket, and service. Florence said they will add research and development to the facility by the end of 2013. The company now has about 80 employees working in Asia-Pacific.

Florence said the company is looking to double its business in the Asia-Pacific and China over the next year.

"It's pretty aggressive, but I think we can get there," he said. "We think there is great potential here."

Currently, the facility in Suzhou is used primarily as a component plant, but the intent is to add more production there, including Super Blue and Euro Blue extruders.

Targeting packaging market

About 48% of the company's portfolio addresses packaging and China is the company's largest market for aseptic packaging. At Chinaplas 2013, the company is showcasing its new dsX flex-pack extrusion coating line, which is designed to give converter and package printers distinct advantages in the flexible packaging market.

"Packaging is an extremely important market for us and it's market we have a lot of depth and expertise in," Florence said.

This pre-engineered line can be delivered in six months and the company said the line is targeting a variety of rapidly emerging application opportunities including salted snack and noodle bags, toothpaste tubes, sachet packs, personal care products, condiment packs and stand-up pouches.

The dsX flex-pack flexible packaging line includes flexible packaging unwinder; corona treaters; extrusion laminator; gravure primer coater dryer; pull roll with nip; winder; electrically heated, air-cooled Davis-Standard extruder with advanced feedscrew design; downstream, carriage, and controls (Seimens drives and controls used throughout). Lines are available in two versions: one is a longer line with the auxiliary unwinder placed close to the floor; the other raises the auxiliary.

Advanced computer technology that is standard on the dsX flex-pack includes DS APC (automatic profile control), which continually adjusts the product profile for best performance, and a DS5 computer, which allows for remote access to the line for troubleshooting and updating over a secure internet connection, the company said. Performance data is exportable to factory systems for SPC and other analytical management tools.

DsX flex pack is currently designed and built in Germany. The intent is to build the machine for its Asia-Pacific customers in Suzhou by 2014. They're anticipating the company will outgrow the plant by the end of 2014 and they might have to find another facility.

"If a machine is sold in China, we want to produce it in China," Preston said. "We don't want to produce it in Germany or the U.S. and then ship it over here. So you have the best of both worlds: a machine designed in Germany and then built in China for the Asia-Pacific market."