In China, KraussMaffei Pushes Open the Door

China National Chemical Corp.'s acquisition of Germany's KraussMaffei Group last year will open up business prospects with China's huge state-owned enterprises, said Xiaojun Cui, CEO of KraussMaffei Group China.

Frank Stieler, CEO of Munich-based KraussMaffei, noted that China's burgeoning middle class will fuel demand for KM's high-end plastics machinery, as manufacturers will need to up their game to satisfy demand for "premium-quality products."

Citing KraussMaffei's "very balanced portfolio and profile," Stieler said the company plans to fuel growth internally. "Strategically, we do not see the need to do acquisitions," Stieler said. Company officials spoke at a news conference just prior to the Chinaplas trade show in Guangzhou.

Within China, the automotive industry is KM's top market, followed by infrastructure, Stieler said. But KraussMaffei has its eye on medical and consumer products.

"We are ready to grow double-digit year after year," Cui said.

Georg Holzinger, president of injection molding machinery for KraussMaffei Group China, announced that the company is now making all-electric PX injection machines at its factory in Haiyan, China. The factory, which is south of Shanghai, also makes large (850 to 4,000 metric tons) MX series machines and two-platen GX machines.

The company has sales and services offices in Shenzhen, Shanghai and Shenyang and support offices throughout the country.

Holzinger also discussed Industry 4.0, which the company prefers to call Plastics 4.0. The term refers to advanced use of automation and data exchange in manufacturing, and it is a concept that he said offers real advantages for plastics processors.

"We are 100 percent convinced that it delivers optimization for our customers in the value chain. Production reliability is clearly improved and also output is increased dramatically if Plastics 4.0 is used," Holzinger said.

Processors trying to manage their scrap can get an assist from KraussMaffei's APC (Adaptive Process Control) Plus software, which lowers scrap rates and dynamically adapts to recycled materials, which tend to be less stable than virgin resin.

"Adjustment is done in a very intelligent way directly within the shot," Holzinger said.

Holzinger also talked up the company's new iPul pultrusion line, which combines the direct injection of matrix material and radius pultrusion. The iPul line doubles typical pultrusion production speeds to more than 3 meters per minute, the company says.

Pultruded products blend a high fiber volume content with low weight, making them suitable for use in China's booming construction and wind power industries, the company says.