PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2016

MOULD MAKING 16 PET planet Insider Vol. 17 No. 10/16 www.petpla.net SPONSORS The China Road Show Customer services for moulds By Kay Barton August 4, 2016, Otto Hofstetter Shenzhen Ltd. We met: Mr Johnson Li, Operating Manager As part of our China Road Show we visited Swiss mould- maker Otto Hofstetter AG’s (OHAG) Service Centre in the city of Shenzhen in southern China, where we met Mr John- son Li, the company’s Operating Manager. The customer base served by the office in Shenzhen primarily uses tools with 96 and 128 cavities, and the establishment of the ser- vice centre has made it possible for OHAG to respond to customer enquiries at short notice and, in addition, to pro- vide technical service and support, spare parts, and general overhaul of moulds. Local preparation and maintenance of moulds has enabled a big reduction in waiting times for Chinese custom- ers and guarantees a level of service equivalent to that provided to European users of OHAG equipment, whether from the workshop or on-site at custom- ers’ premises, if required. A full range of spare parts is held on site at the Shenz- hen facility or can be delivered from the global headquarters in Switzerland at short notice, usually by air freight. The Chinese Service Engineers were carefully trained to ensure that they attend to their tasks according to “In addition to China, including Hong Kong, we serve South Korea and parts of South East Asia from here,” Li explains. The period in the winter months before the Chinese New Year, which is the least busy time of the year for the drinks packaging industry, is when most of the servic- ing work takes place; it is in those weeks that the processors have the time available to maintain their injec- tion machines. “In addition to the technical side of things, our activities include the usual work in the areas of communication and sales, which are scheduled in agreement with our headquarters in Switzerland.” Before Johnson Li joined the China opera- tions of OHAG, he worked for Colgate Guangzhou, specialising in the injec- tion moulding and blow moulding of toothpaste tubes. www.otto-hofstetter.swiss OHAG’s Operating Manager Johnson Li studying PETplanet Insider The local engineers were trained to their tasks according to the guidelines and quality standards of the OHAG HQ. the guidelines and quality standards of the HQ. In the initial phase, Swiss specialists visited Shenzhen and instructed their colleagues on the job. To deepen their knowledge, Chi- nese employees came to Uznach, Switzerland for individual training to suit the specific requirements of their market. Even now they can fall back on their colleagues at the Hofstetter HQ at any time. However minor an uncertainty may appear to be, they are quickly provided with the neces- sary answers and support from the appropriate competencies.