Israeli engineering compounds manufacturer Nilit Ltd. is targeting the local Chinese market, said sales director Bill Lu.
The company, which has plants in Israel, Italy, Germany and the United States, opened a plant in Suzhou in 2009. Lu said that since its establishment, it has averaged sales growth of 40 percent annually.
Currently the plant has two extruders and makes 12,000 tons of nylon compounds a year for electric and enclosure and automotive applications.
The company has plans for expansion, but Lu could not be specific about a timeline. He did say that the company hope to expand to 30,000 tons a year, triple the number of extruder lines, and invest in an R&D center.
“It depends on the market and sales,” he said. He said that local unit is targeting sales growth of 30 percent this year, and that the first quarter was in line with their budget and target.
Local competition is also driving the market, he said. “We see a more aggressive market situation. The price is getting down and there is more competition from local companies.
“We have to focus on increasing local customers,” he said. “We're pretty small in terms of market share in China,” he added.
As for Nilit's global expansion plans, Lu hinted that there is some thought about expanding into South America, but again gave no further details.
