Husky’s all-electric H-Med debuts in Brazil

Husky's H-Med all-electric molding machine is finishing its world tour in São Paulo, running at the company's Brasilplast booth, with plans to install it in the company's sales, service and technical center in Jundiaí, Brazil following the show. Michael Urquhart, Husky's VP Americas sales, told PlasticsToday at the show (May 9-13) that at this point in time, the all-electric machine design that debuted at the K show last autumn and stopped in the U.S. and Plastec West, has not yet been sold into the Brazilian market, but it has had some success in Latin America with a machine delivered to Colombia and two on order in Mexico.

Husky's presence in Brazil goes back to April 1999, when it opened its operation in Jundiaí in the state of São Paulo, growing with the country as its economy has expanded. "Brazil is one of the more stable markets within Latin America," Urquhart said, with an increasing number of people "going middle class." For Brazil, that can be something as simple as individuals and families starting to buy more packaged food and drinks.

To support the growth, last year Husky added service technicians in Manaus in the center of the country and in Recife along the country's eastern coast. Manaus has a duty-free zone and because of this has many installed machines, and Recife is home to the country's largest PET plant, with six preform converters there.

Urquhart conceded that the H-Med technology represents a premium machine, with a price tag reflecting that, but said that molders throughout the region are interested in performance. "If you want a cheaper machine, you can find it," Urquhart said. "People throughout Latin America will pay for quality." For some of its products, Urquhart noted that Husky sells a higher percentage of high-performance models in Latin America than anywhere else in the world.