Wittmann expands production plant in China for competitively priced machinery

Machinery maker Wittmann Group says it recently celebrated the opening of its expanded production plant Kunshan in China. The expansion was completed just in time for the site's 20th anniversary. With this investment, the group says that in addition to robots and auxiliaries, injection moulding machines will now also be produced locally in China.

Initially, machine production in China will focus on the all-electric EcoPrimus injection moulding machine with a clamping force of 100 tonnes, which was presented for the first time at K2025.

“The goal is to build 100 EcoPrimus 100 machines in China next year,” said Werner Wittmann, Founder/Owner of the Wittmann Group, in his welcoming speech during the opening ceremony.

“Our new plant represents Wittmann's transformation from a component supplier to a full-service systems solution provider,” emphasised Kevin Wang, General Manager of Wittmann Kunshan and Wittmann Battenfeld Shanghai. “We can now offer our customers here in China and Asia integrated systems solutions from a single source that are produced entirely locally. Our customers benefit from shorter delivery times and the cost advantages of local production.”

The modern production plant and large technical centre was equipped with the first injection moulding machine exhibits for the opening ceremony. The technical centre and the new training area will be used more intensively for events and interdisciplinary project work in the future.

Meanwhile, production capacity has been doubled for the robotics and auxiliary divisions too.

The expansion adds more than 10,000 sq m of additional floor space, 6,500 sq m for production and 3,500 sq m in the new office building. A total of 13,000 sq m of production space is now available.

The Austrian firm adds that it is not just the floor space that has been increased. All pro­cesses and workflows have been optimized with a view to greater efficiency. The various production areas, such as mechanical processing, assembly and painting, are networked.

With the founding of Wittmann Kunshan 20 years ago, the company says it initially brought robot production to China. “Today, we are one of the leading European robot suppliers in the Chinese plastics industry,” added Wittmann. “This success is the result of lea­ding technology that is produced locally in Asia at competitive costs. We are now pursuing this strategy with the EcoPrimus injection molding machines.”

In the future, China will be not only a production location for Wittmann, but also a development location.

“With our own development, we can respond more flexibly and quickly to the specific requirements here in China and Asia,” says Wang, who has his sights set on various target markets, including packaging, medical devices, automotive, and home appliances.

Wittmann has been present in China with its own sales and service subsidiary since 2001. The company has been producing robots at its Kunshan site since 2005, fol­lowed shortly thereafter by temperature control units, conveying units, compact dryers, and granulators for the local markets.

In 2021, it set another milestone in China with the opening of another sales and service centre in Dongguan in the south of the country.

The group of companies has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria and consists of two main divisions: Wittmann Battenfeld located in Germany and Wittmann. The companies of the group jointly operate ten production plants in seven countries, and the additional sales companies at their 35 different locations are present in all major industrial markets around the world.

Subscribe to Get the Latest Updates from IMA  Please click here