Kautex K-News August/2007 (PDF, 2.0 MB

The quality of our KCC machines
is recognized the world over
There are few if any global players in the
mechanical engineering sector that have
not long since acknowledged the
importance of China as a growth market.
China is becoming steadily more attractive,
not just as a huge consumer market
but meanwhile also as a location for the
manufacture of complex technical
products. Very soon China will be
exporting substantially more high-tech
goods than it currently imports. But
those who are only beginning to elicit
the Far East market will generally find
that they are too late. In virtually every
sector, business with China is already
thriving. Kautex too is now reaping the
rewards of its early business commitment
in the People’s Republic.
Sales successes in Europe too
Recent sales of type KCC extrusion blow
molding machines produced in China
only serve to prove the point. Orders for
Kautex machines manufactured in China
are coming in not just from the Asian
market but also from customers in the
US, Mexico and Russia. And interest in
these KCC machines is also being aroused
in the European market. Two machines
have just recently been supplied to
Du Pont in Switzerland and AKG (Eder
Robust) in Austria. And a technical
college in the German town of Dinkelsbühl
has ordered a KCC machine for
its training workshop.
100 percent Kautex
Ever since 1994 our standard machines
for smaller technical components and
packaging applications up to 30 liters
have been produced at the Kautex plant
in Shunde, China. The original joint
venture between Chinese partner Chen
Sung and the then Krupp subsidiary
Kautex has meanwhile become a wholly
10
-NEWS
Success story
“Made in China“
+ + + K 2 0 0 7 • O c t o b e r 2 4 - 3 1 , 2 0 0 7 • H A L L 1 4 • B O O T H 1 4 A 1 8 + + + N E W K A U T E X W E B S I T E • W W W . K A U T E X - G R O U P . C O
owned branch of Kautex Maschinenbau
GmbH. Only the abbreviation KCC
(Krupp-Kautex – Chen-China) remains as
a reminder of the origins of our involvement
in this burgeoning country.
Consistent quality management
Machines manufactured at the modern
plant situated between the metropolitan
centers of Guangzhou and Hong Kong
were initially destined predominantly for
the growing Asian market. Meantime,
The KCC machines from Shunde provide Kautex
quality at attractive prices.
however, orders for KCC machines are
coming in from all over the world.
Product manager Thomas Berghöfer
believes this is the result of consistent
attention to quality management: “The
KCC machines built in Shunde are subject
to the same high quality standards as
every other Kautex machine. They are
comparable with equipment produced in
Germany, not just in terms of their
design. They also use components that
have been developed in Germany and
are in some cases also made there. For
example, same as for the larger blow
molding machines, the hydraulic
components are supplied by Bosch
Rexroth.”
Top service at a low price
The ease of operation, output capacity
and long service life are every bit as good
as those of machines made in Europe.
“Only the price remains substantially
lower,” adds Thomas Berghöfer. The
price of a KCC machine is still around 40-
50 percent below our German price
levels. Service, too, is another success
factor. Every Kautex machine – whether
it is made in China or at our works in
Bonn – is looked after by the German
service team. Whatever the problem, KCC
customers too can call for the assistance
of a Kautex service engineer at any time.
In an emergency, an engineer can be
dispatched immediately.
The Shunde Kautex assembly operation is located between the metropolises of Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
Thilo Schmidt,
Business Manager Service at
Kautex Maschinenbau GmbH.
Kautex has taken a huge step
forward on its way to becoming
the best service provider in the
blow molding industry.
The days in which machine manufacturers
regarded service as nothing more
than the supply of spare parts are long
gone. Even in the field of capital goods,
the quality of service available for any
product has become a decisive factor in
comparing competitors. “Nowadays no
reputable manufacturer would even
attempt to sell a machine without
offering a convincing package of service
and consultancy,” believes Thilo
Schmidt, Business Manager Service at
Kautex Maschinenbau GmbH.
Local presence reinforced
But not all service packages are the
same. Kautex has set itself the target of
offering the best service in the blow
molding industry with the strongest
local service representation worldwide.
Now Thilo Schmidt and the Kautex
Service team have come a whole lot
closer to meeting this target. Local spare
parts depots have been set up in Japan,
China and Russia and the number of
service personnel has been still further
increased. India is a strategic target for
2008. Worldwide there are now 24
Kautex service engineers on deployment
with customers.
Service makes the
difference
Fit for the future with retrofit
The retrofit service offered by Kautex is
in great demand in all of the company’s
markets. More and more customers are
taking advantage of this modernization
facility, either to increase the performance
capabilities of their existing
machines or convert them to new
production processes. “Kautex machines
regularly have a service life of 25 years
or more. But customers buying machines
today cannot possibly know what
demands the market will be making on
them in 10 or 15 years time. With our
retrofit service, this is no longer a
problem, because in principle any
machine can be either converted or
upgraded to meet current requirements.
This means that investments in our
machines are now even more futureproof,“
says Thilo Schmidt.
Much more than maintenance and repair: the capabilities of the Kautex service team
Modernization is a growth market
The modernization and conversion of
blow molding machines has long since
ceased to be a niche market confined to
just a few countries. In recent years
Kautex has doubled its sales in this field.
Demand is now in evidence in every
market and in every country, with
retrofit orders coming in from Asia and
South America as well as Western
Europe and the US. In fact, the cost
advantages over a new installation are
not the only argument in favor of
modernizing or converting an existing
machine. Thilo Schmidt explains: “Often
these conversions are carried out for
development purposes. So new methods
and processes can be tested fast and
effectively, with the results then
reflected in the manufacture of new
equipment.”