KraussMaffei Forecasts 70% Injection Molding Sales Growth This Year After Merger with ChemChina
Lin Chunting
DATE:  Dec 14 2017
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
KraussMaffei Forecasts 70% Injection Molding Sales Growth This Year After Merger with ChemChina KraussMaffei Forecasts 70% Injection Molding Sales Growth This Year After Merger with ChemChina

(Yicai Global) Dec. 14 -- As one of the world's largest plastic and rubber machinery manufacturers, KraussMaffei Group posted impressive business growth in the Chinese market after its acquisition by China National Chemical Corporation, better known as 'ChemChina,' last year. The company expects substantial sales increase in China this year.

The company will focus on the Chinese market going forward because its injection molding sales are expected to hit 70 percent this year, said Hans Ulrich Golz, president of KraussMaffei's injection molding machinery segment.

The German group registered compound annual growth of 6.6 percent in global sales from 2012 to 2016, he disclosed. The figure is expected to increase further this year, according to data Yicai Global obtained from ChemChina.

However, China is the most important market, and KraussMaffei is targeting a yearly growth rate of over 25 percent in the next several years, Golz added.

China is the largest plastic producer in the world and therefore aptly known as the 'plastic power.' Last year, the industrial output of the national plastic market hit CNY3.5 trillion (USD530 billion), and the total number of plastic producers topped 140,000, according to China Plastics Processing Industry Association. Sales of injection and molding equipment have soared driven by growing demand for injection molding products resulting from a 'consumption upgrade' in the automotive, construction, home appliance, food and pharmaceutical sectors.

China is currently the largest consumer of plastic machines, accounting for about 20 percent of the global market. The major companies worldwide are vying to get a bigger share of this huge market. However, the high-end injection molding machinery market is still dominated by German and Japanese manufacturers, and domestic producers are confronted with fresh challenges.

China's injection molding industry is in the middle of a transition toward 'intelligent' molding techniques, said Qian Guijing, former chairman of China Plastics Processing Industry Association. Industry 4.0, the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies, created fresh momentum for the industry's development, and Chinese companies have stepped up efforts to adapt themselves to the transition. But a number of technology issues still remain to be solved.

ChemChina acquired top German injection molding machinery manufacturer KraussMaffei, then owned by private equity investment firm Onex, for EUR925 million (USD1.09 billion) last year. The ensuing strategic merger of the firm with ChemChina's subsidiary China National Chemical Equipment led to a noticeable improvement in the quality of the latter's injection molding products.

Presently, KraussMaffei only has one Chinese plant in Haiyan, East China's Zhejiang province. After the acquisition, it started building a new factory in Sanming in southern Fujian province, aiming to bring advanced production techniques to the country. 

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Keywords:   As One of The World's Largest Plastic And Rubber Machinery Manufacturers,KraussMaffei Group Posted Impressive Business Growth In The Chinese Market After Its Acquisition By China National Chemical Corporation,Better Known As 'ChemChina