PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2016

MOULD MAKING 19 PET planet Insider Vol. 17 No. 10/16 www.petpla.net SPONSORS The China Road Show A top 3 moulds manufacturer By Kay Barton August 5, 2016 Guangdong Guozhu Precision Mold Co., Ltd. We met: Ms Laura Cai, Overseas Marketing Manager Mr Jungui Yang, Representative of Blowing Equipment Ms Janet Lee, Sales Representative Ms Sharon Li, Sales Representative Mould manufacturer Guozhu Precision Mold, of Guangdong, has been serving the PET industry for more than 20 years. The company is part of Guozhu Holdings Ltd., which also owns Guozhu Plastics Co., Ltd. and Guozhu Blowing Equip- ment Co., Ltd. It was established in 1993 by Mr Yingren Cai, who was then 50 years of age. While he saw huge opportu- nities for PET production in China over the years to come, the company started off with just one task: blowing bottles for the drinks industry. In 1995, having gained experi- ence in the use of PET technol- ogy, the company developed its first injection moulding and blow mould- ing dies for PET, PP and PE. Its first semi-automatic blow moulding system was debuted in 1998. Guozhu subsequently received certification from Coca-Cola, first as a supplier of bottles in 2000 and then as a sup- plier of tools in 2002. It secured its first export contract in 2004. In 2008, the company unveiled its first injec- tion moulding machine for preform manufacturing; in 2012, it upgraded it to a fully turn-key unit. In other areas, Guozhu launched China’s first-ever rotary blower in 2001, initially as a six cavity machine; by 2010, it had been developed to 24-cavities. “Over the years, competition increased, so we decided to expand our portfolio and our technologies, moving into activities such as the production of sealing caps,” Laura Cai, Overseas Marketing Manager, explains. “We now cooperate with a variety of other machinery manufac- turers in China, who offer our moulds to their customers.” In the PET area, the company’s product range includes PET/PP preform moulds with up to 144 cavities, blow moulding dies for rotary, linear and semi-automatic sys- tems and solutions for PE/PP closure injection moulding with cycle times approaching 3.5s. Its offerings for beverage caps range from 29/25 to PCO 1881, and with up to 72 cavities. Guozhu’s latest annual production figures show that it made about 8,000 cavities for preform moulds; about 6,000 for bottles and about 2,000 for caps and handles. Its products are compatible with almost all of the well- known machinery suppliers. In addi- tion, the company offers spare parts for moulds originating from European and American companies, thus help- ing to reduce customers’ production downtimes caused by waiting for essential replacements. Guozhu manufactures its prod- ucts using equipment from Makino, Mikron, Okuma, Studer and others. The company’s production space extends to approximately 6,700m 2 , including its prototyping section and test lab. It employs 185 staff. In 2015 the company sold 30 rotary, 50 linear and around 50 semi-automatic blow- ing machines, achieving a turnover of US$25 million. Its mould sales remain heavily weighted towards its domestic market; between 10% and 20% are exported. Around half of its machinery products are destined for export. Its customers include Coca-Cola, Nongfu Spring and Huiyuan. “We are one of the top three mould manufacturing companies in China, and one of the top five suppliers of blow moulding equipment.” explains Cai. We were advised that GDXL from Foshan is Guozhu’s main competitor in the mould segment, with companies such as Tech Long Machinery leading the competition in blow-moulding systems. Guozhu is currently focusing on a new area of business: the produc- tion of PET medical packaging. Its first moulds, with 16, 24 and 32 cavities and destined for the production of collection tubes for blood samples, have already been manufactured. As well as tube production, the company wants to gain an increased market share in tools for medical applications. http://en.guozhu-pet.com F.l.t.r.: Jungui Yang, Laura Cai, Kay Barton, Janet Lee and Sharon Li Overseas Marketing Manager Laura Cai (left) with Sales Representative Janet Lee