Automotive molder PEMÜ Műanyagipari is part of a European Union-backed partnership involved in upgrading research and development for Japanese carmaker Suzuki Motor Corp. in Hungary.
Solymár, Hungary-based PEMÜ, an established supplier to Suzuki's vehicle assembly plant at Esztergom in northern Hungary, will help develop cost efficient polymers for automotive applications.
Magyar Suzuki Corporation, the global carmaker's Hungarian offshoot, plans to invest nearly 17 million euros ($18 million) to boost research, development and innovation at the Esztergom assembly plant. While more than half the project's finance will be provided by Suzuki, around 8.4 million euros ($8.9 million) will come from an EU grant, say national media reports.
Overall, the plant upgrade will focus on production and the logistics system there, but Suzuki also aims to prepare the facility for introduction of laser welding techniques.
Apart from PEMÜ, the consortium consists of the Hungarian applied research institution Bay Zoltán Nonprofit and the Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest. The group will establish an R&D network, according to the Hungarian news agency MTI.
Around 57 percent of PEMÜ's products are devoted to the automotive industry, overwhelmingly for Suzuki, but the molder also supplies parts to Mercedes and Porsche. Less than 20 percent of the firm's injection molding production is for other sectors, such as household appliances and other electrical goods.
Since 2010, PEMÜ has invested in a range of injection machines supplied by the Chinese company Chen Hsong.
Two Chen Hsong machines, a servo JM800-SVP/2 unit and a JM2600, the first large machine, both with a 6-axis robot, were delivered in 2012 while in 2013 and 2014 another five units were added.
Early last year, the first Chen Hsong 2-platen SM1900-SVP/2 with Beckhoff controller was installed at the PEMÜ plant.
The firm offers other plastics processing including polyurethane foaming and sheet extrusion, as well as producing PTFE and silicone products.