A Taiwanese custom injection molder is expanding in Britain and China, and plans to build a plant in Poland within three years.
Privately held Kemflo International Co. Ltd. operates a 432,000-square-foot molding, tooling and assembly plant in P'ing-tung, Taiwan. It supplies the automotive, leisure, plumbing and defense sectors in Asia, Australia and the Americas.
The company is building a $30 million, 1 million-square-foot production complex on a 200-acre site in Nanjing, China. The firm plans to complete the first phase, a 324,000-square-foot molding operation, in June or July, according to President Ching Shung Lin. That operation will have 30 robot-equipped, Taiwanese-built injection presses.
Kemflo formed a European sales and marketing joint venture, Kemflo Europe Ltd., in St. Albans, England, in September. The company's partner is British entrepreneur David Walker, whose water-filtration products company had been supplied by Kemflo since 1990.
Walker sold his company last year and was looking for a new entrepreneurial role.
``British manufacturers are constantly looking at ways to reduce production costs and increase margins. Now, with the extremely high production standards and low prices available in Taiwan and China, it is possible for them to source top-quality components at half the price they are currently paying,'' Walker said.
In a telephone interview from company headquarters, Lin said he founded Kemflo in 1979 with two injection molding machines. The company now has 70 Taiwanese-made presses in P'ing-tung, and it has annual sales of $35 million.
The company also extrudes PVC for wall slatting, floors, patio decking and fences.
When the Chinese and European operations are finished, Lin predicts the company will post annual sales of $160 million to $170 million.