German plastics machinery maker KraussMaffei (KM, Munich; www.kraussmaffei.com) will start producing and supplying injection moulding machines from its plants in Haiyan / China, in the spring of 2014. Production at the plant has recently doubled. One of the first machines to be supplied completely from Haiyan will be an MX 1300-8100 for Yanfeng USA Automotive Trim System (Harrison Township, Missouri; www.yanfengusa.com). Yanfeng USA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yanfeng Visteon Automotive Trim System, headquartered in Shanghai / China. The machine will be equipped with the new "MuCell" system, a process for the physical foaming of plastic parts which makes them up to 35% lighter than comparable components.

KraussMaffei and Yanfeng have also agreed to cooperate further globally in the area of thermoplastic and duroplastic processing. Discussions are currently progressing on other machines. "We are delighted to provide our know-how to support Yanfeng as a strong supplier on the global automotive market and we see great potential for further cooperation,” said Frank Peters, vice president of sales at KraussMaffei. In addition to the expansion of its Chinese plants, Yanfeng said other production sites in North America and Europe are planned for 2014. The company currently operates plants in China, the US and India.