Compared to the first half of 2019, Japanese-German injection moulding machinery manufacturer Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery (Schwaig / Germany; www.sumitomo-shi-demag.eu) has concluded the first half of 2020 with a substantial plus: the value of incoming orders for machinery produced in Germany and China increased by 25% during the first six months. CEO Gerd Liebig. predominantly attributes the growth to orders placed by the packaging and medical technology sectors.

As has been the case across the entire plastics industry, however, demand from the automotive industry has slumped sharply for the Japanese-German manufacturer. The forecast for the consumer segment is also rather modest – due to the tense situation on the labour market and the declining willingness of consumers to buy, the company expects lower investments in this sector.

For the year 2020 as a whole, SHI expects a significant increase in order intake of 17% with a “stable turnover,” which last year was EUR 282.5m. “By the second half of 2020, we will once again double our production capacities in order to be able to meet the demand,” said Liebig. The groundbreaking ceremony for a new production hall in Schwaig took place only a few weeks.

As a result of the increase in orders, the all-electric “IntElect” injection moulding machine, which has so far been manufactured exclusively in Germany for the international market, is also to be manufactured in Japan from this year.

Together with its Japanese parent company Sumitomo Heavy Industries, SHI employs more than 3,000 people in its four plants in China, Germany and Japan. The product portfolio includes fully electric and hybrid-driven injection moulding machines with clamping forces between 180 and 15,000 kN.