Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CFO of the Year
    • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Bioplastics Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • PFAS Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
    • Europe - Virgin
    • Europe - Recycled
    • Europe - Feedstock
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
February 04, 2019 01:00 AM

Sumitomo Demag begins phase one of US expansion plan

Audrey LaForest
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery North America Inc.
    Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery North America Inc. will focus on its SE series of machines at a new facility near Atlanta.

    Updated Feb. 5: Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery North America Inc. is moving into a 74,000-square-foot facility in Suwanee, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta, as phase one of a three-part U.S. expansion plan for 2019.

    The Japanese injection molding machinery maker said Feb. 4 the new facility is nearly triple the size of the Norcross, Ga., site it will replace. The lease on the Norcross facility is up at the end of February.

    The Suwanee facility, also a leased building, will serve as Sumitomo's North American headquarters and employ more than 30 people. So far, the company has hired about seven additional workers as part of the strategy.

    The site will house corporate, sales, field service and other aftersales support offices as well as hands-on and classroom training areas. The facility will also have a new, larger tech center that will feature Sumitomo's SE series all-electric presses in clamping forces ranging from 33-562 tons, various specialized options and other auxiliary equipment. The center will be used for machine demos, mold tests, hands-on training and other activities.

    The company said the Suwanee facility will officially open Feb. 25, with training classes beginning in April. An open house is planned for later this year.

    The location will also be used for storing stock models of Sumitomo's all-electric injection molding machines, primarily the SE series, and modifying the machines to meet customer specifications. The larger facility will allow Sumitomo to stock around 70 machines at any given time.

    “The beauty there is not only are we adding to the headcount and the resources, but with the new facility we'll be able to import machines … from Japan and do the in-house modifications ourselves here in the U.S. much quicker, and then be able to ship directly to customers,” John Martich III, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Sumitomo's U.S. operations, said in a Feb. 4 phone interview.

    Phase one of the expansion plan marks an $800,000 investment for the machinery maker, he said, citing facility upgrades such as renovated office space and new bay doors and cranes, among other building improvements to accommodate larger injection molding machines. Martich was unable to discuss phase two and three of the expansion plan at this time.

    Parent company Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd., based in Tokyo, started selling injection molding machines in the United States in 1980. In addition to the Georgia location, Sumitomo has a technology center in Strongsville, Ohio, where it houses various models of Sumitomo Demag injection presses as well as rebuilding operations for Van Dorn-brand machines.

    Martich cited shifting circumstances and changes in the business environment that require quicker delivery of machinery to customers as big drivers behind the expansion in the U.S. market. With build-to-order production, delivery times on average can take anywhere from 15-20 weeks or more, depending on the level of complexity, he said.

    “But to be able to take an existing stock machine, configure it quickly, do the engineering work, the design, the installation, and ship it to the customer within a matter of 30 days is a competitive advantage Sumitomo has in North America,” he said.

    Around 80 percent of Sumitomo's North American employees work in the aftersales side of the business, which includes the machinery modification team, technical staff and others, Martich said.

    “That gives us a huge advantage because there's a significant ratio of our business that supports a quick delivery strategy in North America,” he said, adding that the technical staff employees have an average tenure of more than 20 years with the company.

    “It's us taking personal ownership of a piece of equipment and then servicing that machine for 15 or 20 years down the road that we can handle on our own, independently,” he said.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Complications on the rise for concentrate makers
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Employee dies in forklift accident at C-P Flexible Packaging
    2
    Production outages push PP prices higher
    3
    Florida beats out Las Vegas, Chicago for NPE through 2033
    4
    Kickstart: This is not real
    5
    EPA orders Inhance to stop its HDPE barrier coatings, citing PFAS concerns
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CFO of the Year
        • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
      • Podcasts
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Bioplastics Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • PFAS Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
      • Europe - Virgin
      • Europe - Recycled
      • Europe - Feedstock
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified