Machinery News

Urbanisation to fuel Battenfeld-Cincinnati's growth in China

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According to newly-appointed General Manager Mark Feng, the company received large orders last year that greatly contributed to the sales increase. Hence, despite gloomy predictions, the company remains optimistic about the long-term growth prospects for China confirming that recovery is likely to happen in the coming quarters.

Feng expects another 10% sales increase in 2012, bolstered by updating of existing pipelines for both residential and municipal projects in Shandong, Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces as well as Sichuan and Chongqing.

He expects more demand for multilayer co-extrusion pipes, large-diameter polyethylene and PVC pipes, as well as wood-plastics composite extrusion. To also help achieve this, Feng said they will also be focusing on improving supply chain efficiency and cost control.

Industry observers, meanwhile, predict a slowing GDP growth and tightening credit this year. Forecasters expect an 8% growth instead of 10%.

Currently, the company has facility in Foshan that occupies a production area of 130,000 square feet and a workforce of 180. The Foshan factory imports core components. The company's three major end markets include infrastructure, building construction, renovations.

New developments; proven solutions
In line with its sustained interest in the region, the company unveiled its latest products that focus on premium quality and energy efficiency during the recently-held Chinaplas exhibition - the swarfless PVC profile cutter MTV125E, the Argos 93 twin screw extruder, and the Talos 60 single screw for pipe profile and cable extrusion.

According to Feng, to strengthen competitiveness, they decided to integrate the core technologies to help address customers' need to cut on energy cost. For instance, the PVC profile cutter MTV125E uses a highly energy-efficient AC motor imported from Siemens, a drive technology manufacturer. The AC motor is said to ensure the highest possible cost-effective operation by balancing energy and comes with explosion protection to meet high safety standards.

The Argos extruder meanwhile offer outputs of up to 350kg per hour for PVC profiles and up to 500 kg per hour for PVC pipes. Said Feng, the extruders have been designed for maximum productivity by enabling processors to use a great variety of formulations. The processing of calcium, zinc or tin stabilised formulations is also possible with this technology.

Nevertheless, the Talos 60 takes up a small floor space without compromising productivity. It can reach outputs of up to 350 kg per hour. It also has an AC drive and a bi-metallic air-cooled barrel to enable energy savings. In addition, the Talos features a BMC-touch control system with a 15-inch TFT VGA colour display that provides an overview of all process parameters for perfect synchronisation between extruder and downstream equipment.

"Our latest equipment can offer high output, low energy consumption and automatic feeding and cutting, which are essential for customers that desire cost-effective production in the longer term," Feng summarised.

Aside from enabling energy efficiency, high productivity and safety, Feng emphasised that although their machines come with a premium, theirs have a convincing price-performance ratio that is backed by global support network for production and service.

With these new offerings that comply with global standards, Feng hopes sales in exports to also double this year. To date, Battenfeld-Cincinnati's major export markets include Southeast Asia, South America, and the Middle East.