Demag Plastics Machinery (Ningbo), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japanese-German plastics machinery manufacturer, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag (Schwaig / Germany; www.sumitomo-shi-demag.eu), has started construction of its new production facility in China – see Plasteurope.com of 15.08.2013. The foundation stone was laid on 18 April, 2014.

An investment of EUR 7m has been made in the facility in Ningbo which will increase its production capacity from 650 up to 1,000 injection moulding machines. The expansion is in response to increased demand in China. The plant is planned to go onstream in July 2015 and will be the first site that the company owns – it has been renting sites since it started operating in 1998. Stephan Greif, CEO of Demag Plastics Machinery (Ningbo), said: “Operating our own extended facility will boost our global growth.”

The company is currently producing the “Systec C” series of machines which have clamping forces of 500-10,000 kN. There are plans to enhance its portfolio in China with an additional machine series in July next year. Demag Plastics Machinery (Ningbo) is also anticipating an increase in exports, which are currently running at 25% of output. In addition to local processors, the company supplies injection moulding firms in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.