HAITIAN
Zhafir opens new facility in Germany / Machinery manufacturing group lifts market share in 2009
The second half of 2009 has been quite relaxed, said Zhang Jianming, executive director and CEO of machinery manufacturing group Haitian International Holdings (Hong Kong / China; www.haitian.com), during the official opening of the new assembly line at subsidiary Zhafir Plastics Machinery (Ebermannsdorf / Germany; www.zhafir.com). The workforce in Ebermannsdorf will begin assembling the all-electric "Venus" machine immediately, to be followed later by the "Mercury" model.
Helmar Franz, his colleague on the group’s management board, expects a significant improvement in Q3 and probably also for Q4. In contrast to the general global trend, Zhang predicts that annual sales could even exceed those of 2008, which stood at RMB 3.7 bn (around EUR 360m). The reason, he said, was the healthy sales of the "Mars" and Venus machines. The Mars has been on the market for 18 months and currently accounts for more than 70% of the machines ordered. Around 350 Venus machines have also been installed since May 2008.
"The order books are full," continued Zhang. Each month, Haitian delivers more than 2,000 machines. “Business has been booming since August,” Franz said, “with every month outperforming the previous one.” Domestic demand in particular has picked up, with traditionally strong markets back in business again. Initially, orders for machines with low clamping forces rose slightly more than those for large machines, "but now in Q4, customers are placing orders for large machines again," said Franz. "Not only has the market recovered, we have won additional market shares, too," he added. Just how stable the company is, he said, was shown by the fact that its cash reserves rose even in the difficult first half of the year.
Third quarter sales are likely to be RMB 1 bn (nearly EUR 100m) higher than those posted in the corresponding quarter of 2008. According to Franz, Zhafir's high-performance machines will account for about RMB 100m, whereas the low-end machines of the "Tianjian" brand will bring in around RMB 500m, and Haitian's standard machines will reap in more than RMB 400m.
Looking toward the future, Franz expects China to become the world's largest market. Here, Haitian is placing its bets in particular on the all-electric Venus, mostly because its outstanding performance has opened up new fields of application in areas such as packaging and medical technology. At present, about 6,000 to 7,000 all-electric machines, most of them produced in Japan, are being sold each year on the Chinese market, although the majority are bought by Asian companies of non-Chinese origin. "That's where the potential is," said Franz. By 2012, Haitian expects the annual number of all-electric machines sold in China to reach 10,000 – a rise of 60%.
Helmar Franz, his colleague on the group’s management board, expects a significant improvement in Q3 and probably also for Q4. In contrast to the general global trend, Zhang predicts that annual sales could even exceed those of 2008, which stood at RMB 3.7 bn (around EUR 360m). The reason, he said, was the healthy sales of the "Mars" and Venus machines. The Mars has been on the market for 18 months and currently accounts for more than 70% of the machines ordered. Around 350 Venus machines have also been installed since May 2008.
"The order books are full," continued Zhang. Each month, Haitian delivers more than 2,000 machines. “Business has been booming since August,” Franz said, “with every month outperforming the previous one.” Domestic demand in particular has picked up, with traditionally strong markets back in business again. Initially, orders for machines with low clamping forces rose slightly more than those for large machines, "but now in Q4, customers are placing orders for large machines again," said Franz. "Not only has the market recovered, we have won additional market shares, too," he added. Just how stable the company is, he said, was shown by the fact that its cash reserves rose even in the difficult first half of the year.
Third quarter sales are likely to be RMB 1 bn (nearly EUR 100m) higher than those posted in the corresponding quarter of 2008. According to Franz, Zhafir's high-performance machines will account for about RMB 100m, whereas the low-end machines of the "Tianjian" brand will bring in around RMB 500m, and Haitian's standard machines will reap in more than RMB 400m.
Looking toward the future, Franz expects China to become the world's largest market. Here, Haitian is placing its bets in particular on the all-electric Venus, mostly because its outstanding performance has opened up new fields of application in areas such as packaging and medical technology. At present, about 6,000 to 7,000 all-electric machines, most of them produced in Japan, are being sold each year on the Chinese market, although the majority are bought by Asian companies of non-Chinese origin. "That's where the potential is," said Franz. By 2012, Haitian expects the annual number of all-electric machines sold in China to reach 10,000 – a rise of 60%.
02.12.2009 Plasteurope.com [214969]
Published on 02.12.2009
German version of this article...