SUWANEE, GA. — Taiwanese auxiliary equipment maker Shini Plastics Technologies Inc. has opened a 40,000-square-foot U.S. facility near Atlanta to handle sales and service of Shini robots and hot runners in the United States.
It marks the introduction of Shini robots to the U.S. market. The U.S. operation is named Shini Plastics Technologies LLC.
“We're selling a full range of servo-robots and sprue pickers, and our prices are very good, compared to our competition,” said Kevin Allred, regional sales manager for automation. “We're going to offer high quality. We have U.S. standards on controls and mechanical.”
Shini runs three factories in China, one in India and at its headquarters in Taipei, and has a sales office in Stuttgart, Germany. The company does all manufacturing of its robots and hot runners.
Shini drew about 100 people to an open house at the technical and logistic center in Suwanee, north of Atlanta, on April 4. Cathy Wu, general manager, said Shini bought the building two years ago, making a solid commitment to the U.S. market.
The building is a former cabinet factory, so it boasts a large showroom with wooden floors, like-new offices — and even hotel-quality bathroom fixtures. Wu said Shini was able to move right in, without even needing to paint the walls.
In May, Shini installed a 120-ton injection molding machine, which the company will use to show off its robots.
Allred said that, for the U.S. market, Shini is targeting robots to run on presses in clamping forces from 40-500 tons. But Shini will keep robots in stock in China, for the United States, for presses up to 2,000 tons, he said.
“What we're promoting out of here is the automation. The hot runner is the automation of the mold, and the robot is the automation of the molding machine,” Allred said.
