A Taiwanese firm has developed its own version of injection micromolding machines and hopes to position them as a lower-cost alternative to the German and Japanese units that dominate that higher-end market.
Edex Technology Co. Ltd., which unveiled the machines at the recent Taipei Plas show, claims they are the first micromolding machines made outside of Germany and Japan. The Taiwanese firm thinks it can gain market share by selling them for 30 percent less than established competitors.
“We have the technology and the skill to develop this machine, but at a lower price,” said Wu Mei, manager of administration for the Taipei-based company. “We have overcome many of the cost problems with the machine.”
The machines use a plunger injection system, with Japanese servomotors and German gear pumps, she said in a March 9 interview at Taipei Plas.
It's a potentially bold step for Edex, a small firm that until last year designed and made standard injection presses for other companies.
But Wu said the firm sees chances to make inroads with its machine in Taiwan's strong electronics components molding industry, and expand from there into electronics and medical applications, among others.
She said the company, for example, received a lot of interest from Japanese firms at the Taipei Plas show, held March 5-9 in Taipei.
The company unveiled a lineup of five machines in its “Atom” brand, ranging from 5-60 tons.
While the machine is new commercially, the company picked up the top prize in plastics machinery this year for awards given by the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry, presented at the trade fair.
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