Gluco Inc., a manufacturer of injection molding machines in Jenison, Mich., is now the exclusive U.S. distributor for Multiplas Enginery Co. Ltd. of Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Through the new sales agreement, Gluco will be stocking and servicing several of Multiplas' vertical injection molding series of machines and supplying parts in all 50 states. The machines range in size from 15-500 tons and are available with vertical or horizontal injection, front-to-back shuttle tables and rotary tables. Machine applications are for thermoplastics, thermosets and liquid silicone rubber, and are widely used in the electronics, automotive and medical industries, among others.
David Chang, vice president of sales at Multiplas, said in an email Sept. 8 that Gluco will be a "key factory to Multiplas to develop the market in the states."
"Multiplas forecasts our sales in the U.S. market [could] double in three years with the help of the strong technical services and sales network from our new distributor, Gluco," Chang said.
Gluco, which has been manufacturing its own vertical injection molding machines for 54 years, previously partnered with Multiplas roughly 14 years ago for the development of automotive vertical C-frame machines, according to Doug Grotenrath, Gluco's vice president of sales and marketing.
"We've had that relationship [with Multiplas] for a long time, and we want to take on their whole other line for customer reasons," Grotenrath said in a phone interview Sept. 11. "It's just a really good fit for us."
Following the announcement, Gluco said it plans on adding one additional salesperson to the team. Grotenrath declined to comment on how many machines Gluco has sold for Multiplas.
Gluco was previously the exclusive U.S. sales agent for Hong Kong's Chen Hsong. Grotenrath said in an email that Gluco recently dissolved its agreement with the injection molding machine manufacturer.
"We have a couple of Chen Hsong machines in stock, but once they are gone we will no longer sell them," he said. "We will service our customers that have purchased Chen Hsong molding machines from Gluco."
