Demag Plastics Group (DPG) announced it has started construction of a new 9,000 sq meter production plant in Ningbo, China.

The group's Demag Plastics Machinery (Ningbo) subsidiary will move into the site by the middle of 2007, replacing the rented facilities elsewhere in Ningbo.

Production of the Chinese Dragon hydraulic drive machine will be extended from the present 50-200 tonne range to 50-420 tonnes at the new plant, and DPG will also start producing its IntElect all-electric machine there too during the second half 2007, also with a 50-420 tonne clamping force range.

The announcement about the Chinese-made IntElect follows the initial one made in May, when DPG had originally indicated introduction of a Dragon Electric machine at the new plant.

Ceo Dr Klaus F. Erkes said the decision to start making the IntElect in China as well as at its small machine plant at Wiehe in Germany is due to "tremendous growth in the proportion of all-electric machines" in the injection moulding machine market.

Erkes said the IntElect machines to be made in Ningbo are intended to enable the company to compete better against all-electric machines from Asian producers in the USA, where all-electric machines already account for 45% of the market, and in the rapidly growing Asian market, where the all-electric share has reached 60%.

While the machine made in Wiehe will continue to be supplied with its high specification level at its usual price level for customers worldwide, the Ningbo-made model will be available with a lower level of specification and at a more competitive price, Erkes said.

Source:佚名