Injection press makers invest in India

New Delhi — Chinese and Japanese injection molding machinery makers are planning capacity expansions in India to meet growth in the country's domestic market, particularly with higher-tonnage machines.

At the Plastindia 2023 show, held Feb. 1-5 in New Delhi, executives said the market requires about 10,000 machines a year, with about half made domestically and half imported, largely from China.

The companies said they're gearing their made-in-India expansions toward larger tonnage machines, especially those from 1,000 tons to 3,200 tons clamping force, a category where India imports most of its machines.

China's Haitian Huayuan Machinery (India), for example, is, according to a source, investing more than $20 million in a greenfield site near Chennai, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Currently, the Ningbo, China-based firm, which is one of the world's largest press makers, manufactures injection molding machines up to 1,000 tons clamping force at its facility in Mehsana, Gujarat.

A source familiar with the expansion, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it's not been publicly announced, said the company started work on the site in late 2022 and hopes to have production started next year.

"The upcoming site would be operational in the beginning of 2024, to produce 100-150 injection molding presses ranging from 1,000-3,000 tons clamping force," the source said.

Similarly, press maker Shibaura Machine India, a unit of Japan's Shibaura Machine Group, plans to almost triple production at its India site in the next five years.

The company, which announced the expansion in November, is planning a second unit at its site in Chennai that will increase its annual capacity from 1,200 machines a year to 2,500 within the next three years and 3,200 in the next five years.

"We will invest 3 billion rupees ($36.3 million) in the upcoming Chennai site to produce all-electric high tonnage machines," said Kumar Mathrubootham, managing director of Shibaura Machine India, at Plastindia 2023.

Currently, Shibaura manufactures machines up to 1,300 tons clamping force but after the expansion, it will extend its range to up to 3,000 tons.

Shibaura, formerly Toshiba Machines, recently laid the foundation stone for a new manufacturing facility adjacent to its existing Chennai plant. The new factory is expected to begin its trial production by November.

"The expansion is in line with the growing Indian machinery market, at about 10 percent annually, and we have to expand to maintain market share," he said.

China's Yizumi Holdings Co. Ltd. also expanded its joint venture presence in India in 2022, in a 2 billion rupees ($24.2 million) investment.

The new site in Sanand, near Ahmedabad in the west Indian state of Gujarat, comes after an executive said the joint venture, Yizumi Precision Machinery India Pvt. Ltd., recorded substantial year-on-year growth.

"The plant has an installed capacity to produce 2,000 injection molding machines annually," said Ramesh Vardan, managing director of the joint venture. "Initially, we could make around 80-100 machines each month. We would like to operate the plant to the optimum capacity in a phased manner as demand grows."

Yizumi sold 580 machines last year in India and is targeting between 700 and 800 machines in 2023.

The company unveiled an all-electric range at the show. The Sanand site focuses on assembling and manufacturing machines with clamping force ranging from 60 tons to 2,400 tons.

The show marks the first time Plastindia has been held since 2018, after the pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2021 and 2022 shows.

The event is typically held every three years but the regularly scheduled edition was canceled in 2021, as was the makeup version in 2022.