Seven months after it first decided to open a new plant in Suzhou / China, extrusion systems specialist Davis-Standard (DS, Pawcatuck, Connecticut / USA; www.davis-standard.com) has officially begun operations at the site. The company said the management team and plant operators were already in business, with construction works inside the building close to complete.

The facility, which – aside from manufacturing equipment – will also provide sales and technical support as well as aftermarket and service programmes, underlines the company’s commitment to Asia-Pacific. The site also includes research and development equipment for customer trials.

Shortly before Christmas last year, Davis-Standard was acquired by Canadian investment firm Onex (Toronto; www.onex.com) in a deal the financial details of which were not disclosed – see Plasteurope.com of 10.01.2012. That means the company is now under the same roof as German machinery group KraussMaffei (KM, Munich; www.krauss-maffei.com), which has just been purchased by Onex – see Plasteurope.com of 27.09.2012.