SJ Group (Hong Kong / China; www.shouju.com) has chosen Germany as the site for its first European sales and service hub. The internationally active tool builder said its SJ Plastic & Mold Europe subsidiary, located in Hochkirch, will expand its after-sales service and technical support in the region. The German office started operations in July this year.

The subsidiary is currently manned by managing director André Miertschin, with further employees expected to be hired in H1 next year. It will serve customers from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the UK and Ireland. In five years’ time, SJ Plastic & Mold Europe is expected to be capable of independently handling customer service requests on site, Miertschin told Plasteurope.com. At the same time, parent company SJ Group plans to increase its service activities in the US, where it has been working with one sales representative for about a year now.

SJ Group posted sales of USD 25m (about EUR 21.9m) in 2014, with the US accounting for 60% of total revenues, followed by Europe with 30%. The company produces about 500 injection moulding tools each year for the automotive and E&E segments (60%), packaging (30%) and medical applications (10%). The specialist for tandem and stack moulds operates four plants in China – two of which are located in Shenzhen (Guangdong province) as well as one each in Wuxi and Chengdu. Owned by Michael Chiang as well as Wing Lo and the latter’s brother, SJ Group employs about 500 workers worldwide.