2014-2015 Exhibitions
With 30% of its business accounted for by Asia, particularly in China, US-headquartered extrusion machinery supplier Davis-Standard is “very successful” in the region, said Carlos Flores, Global Vice-President of Marketing.
Part of the company’s Global Advantage strategy is the addition of assets in Asia/China.
In line with this, the firm set up a 4,300 sq m facility in Suzhou in 2012, making control panels and other components. It has now expanded to the manufacture of extruders and gear boxes, said Sekaran Murugaiah, Vice-President, Business Development for Asia Pacific. He also said the facility now employs 150 people, complemented by a sales/support team of 15 people in Shanghai.
Early this year, Davis-Standard also opened a spare parts/service centre in Suzhou. “We now have the capability to allow customers to upgrade their lines and equipment, since some machines in China are very old,” said Sekaran, speaking at a Media Day organised by Chinaplas 2014 organiser Adsale in Shanghai.
Besides allowing for retrofitting of gears and feed screws, the Suzhou facility also has an extensive inventory of high usage parts, explained Sekaran, adding that in the past customers had to place orders in US/Europe. “We are able to supply parts within 24 hours from Suzhou,” he added, explaining that local language support and acceptance of payment in RMB are other benefits offered.
Meanwhile, under the umbrella of the dsX range of equipment, at last year’s Chinaplas and K2013 shows, Davis-Standard introduced the dsX flex pack for flexible packaging, running a line at its facility in Dusseldorf, and the dsX med-tech for medical tubing/catheters.
This year, the firm is promoting the dsX stretch line for the stretch film market. It is a high speed line capable of 750 m/minute for 8 micron-films. It also has what is said to be a unique coreless winder, with the capability of restretching to make film even thinner.
The stretch line is targeted at film producers serving the stretch film market, especially those that are looking at replacing older lines to allow for more efficiency.
Explaining the new dsX product range, Flores added, “It brings to light lots of core competencies such as screw design, web handling and winding as well as control systems capabilities of the company.” In the dsX, the X stands for value and Davis-Standard’s ability to deliver value to customers, he further explained.
It already has a demo med-tube line for customer trials in Suzhou, since the medical market is an area where the firm has seen strong growth over last 5 years and expects strong future growth driven by market demand.
In line with its global strategy, the firm says it will continue to introduce new products for the wire/cable, sheet and medical markets in China/Asia.
When asked why a processor would select Davis-Standard equipment, Flores said the company brings experience in engineering solutions from its installed base in Asia, plus it is also building and investing in a global footprint and in technology centres.
The company’s focus is also on catering to the needs of small to medium sized processors that are sprouting up in Asia.
“Davis-Standard has a global advantage in bringing pre-engineered solutions and the right sized equipment to players in Asia,” he added.
(PRA)
