SHANGHAI (May 8, 4:40 p.m. ET) — Battenfeld-Cincinnati scored big in China last year with some major orders, and the company expects to continue to grow as China demands high output and high efficiency machinery.
In an interview with Plastics News at the recent Chinaplas show in Shanghai, Mark Feng, general manager of Battenfeld-Cincinnati (Foshan) Extrusion Systems Ltd. said sales shot up from 43 million yuan ($6.8 million) in 2010 to 275 million yuan ($43.6 million) in 2011.
“We won some large orders,” he said. Feng was appointed to the new position in March from sales director.
The Foshan operation now has 130,000 square feet of production space and a workforce of 180.
Under Feng's leadership, the company will continue to focus on premium quality, energy-efficient machinery. “We've been striving to integrate the core technologies of the two brands and to increase competitiveness,” he said.
Despite China's lower GDP growth forecast and tightening credit, Feng anticipates that sales will see another 10 percent increase this year. Among its three major end markets — infrastructure, construction of new buildings and updating of existing building — Feng said he sees a lot of potential with the updating of existing pipelines for both residential projects and municipal projects, as China continues to urbanize.
“Infrastructure is looking good as well, such as three-layer [polypropylene] pipes,” he added, “As we make sure of the execution of our business strategies, the impact of the macroeconomic environment is well managed.”
The newly appointed executive said he also will focus on improving supply chain efficiency and cost control. The Foshan factory imports core components.
He is also going to put more emphasis on exports, with a goal of doubling export sales this year. Major export markets include Southeast Asia, South America and the Middle East.
Inside China, Feng said business remains strong in traditional industrial clusters such as Shandong, Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces, but he also noted the boom in Midwest regions such as Sichuan and Chongqing.
Battenfeld-Cincinnati machines are priced at a premium level, he said, about 2.5 to 4 times the price of a domestic brand equivalent. However, he argued that the “comprehensive cost” is very competitive.
As manufacturing cost – energy cost, rent, labor cost, to name a few – continues to rise in China, plastics processors need machines that can offer energy-saving, space-saving and labor-saving solutions.
“Our equipment can offer high output, low energy consumption and automatic feeding and cutting, which are essential for customers that desire cost-effective production in the longer term,” he said.
Feng also shared his view of the rising trends in the Chinese market, and they include multilayer co-extrusion pipe, large-diameter polyethylene and PVC pipe, as well as wood-plastics composite extrusion.
At Chinaplas, the company displayed the new, swarfless PVC profile cutter MTV125E, the Argos 93 parallel twin-screw extruder, and the Talos 60 single-screw extruder for pipe, profile and cable extrusion as well as co-extrusion applications.