WINTEC: aiming at the mid-market and committed to economic innovation

Peter Auinger, President of Sales and Service for WINTEC.

As a new brand of ENGEL Group, WINTEC has been committed to providing the Asian market with superb, reliable, and durable injection molding machines used for the production of conventional products. It is of decisive significance to the Group's strategic layout in the mid-market for injection molding machines. In addition to exploiting its strong technical strength inherited from ENGEL's 70-year experience in injection molding machine manufacturing, WINTEC persists in product innovation tailored to target groups' differentiated demands in the market.

Established in 2014, ENGEL Machinery (Changzhou) Co. Ltd. (WINTEC) is a subsidiary of ENGEL Group. It boasts strong technical strength inherited from ENGEL's 70-year experience in injection molding machine manufacturing.

By persisting in product innovation tailored to differentiated demands of target groups in the market, WINTEC has been committed to meeting Asian commercial product manufacturers' soaring demand in quality products, energy efficiency, and services from foreign brands of injection molding machines.

After only two years of rapid development, WINTEC has grown from a small company with only 50 employees to a much bigger one with 150-staff. What's more, its t-win two-platen hydraulic injection molding machines launched two years ago have won the trust of Asian users.

What is the difference between the products of ENGEL and those of its subsidiary WINTEC? What is the secret to WINTEC's rapid success in the market? How is WINTEC going with its localization efforts? In a recent interview by our magazine, these questions were answered in depth by Peter Auinger, President of Sales and Service for WINTEC.  

Identify Differentiated Needs and Be Geared to Target Groups

Injection molding machines are customized professional capital equipment used for productivity improvement of various plastic products industries. As is the case with typical capital goods, goods with more technical content and added value are in more need of customized production. However, as such need varies substantially with users in different industries and areas, injection molding machines manufacturers should be able to identify differentiated demands in the market and develop diversified products accordingly.

Peter Auinger said, “All markets are hierarchically structured and can be divided into low-end markets, mid-markets, and high-end markets, providing differentiated product qualities and services to different users. ENGEL's machines are mainly aimed at the high-end market and have demonstrated their value in dealing with complex tasks in Asia and providing customized services. However, aware of differentiated needs and the development trend in the market, ENGEL has realized that all markets are developing in an upward spiral and that there will be more and more user groups in the mid-market in the future who will also be in increasing needs. Out of the awareness of such differentiation, ENGEL created the brand of WINTEC, which was aimed at the mid- market and to realize the product diversification in the Chinese market. ”

Since its inception, WINTEC has been striving in the huge market of commercial product applications. Though Asian commercial product manufacturers are in soaring need of quality products, energy efficiency as well as services from foreign brands of injection molding machines, Chinese injection molding machine manufacturers, which have been suffering from homogeneity and lack of leading technology, are in no position to fully meet these needs. With cutting-edge technologies inherited from ENGEL's experience in injection molding machine manufacturing, WINTEC has a decisive competitive advantage in this market segment and can be well geared to the market demand. This strategic decision of ENGEL has not only gained new target groups but also secured its foothold in Asia.

Integrate Quality Management and Expand the Market with Outstanding Qualities  

WINTEC aims to attract customers seeking high-quality, high-precision, and relatively standard equipment with less options. Therefore, the biggest difference of WINTEC injection molding machines from ENGEL is that they offer less functional modules and options. However, it should be emphasized that, the quality of WINTEC's products and services are managed through ENGEL's global integrated quality management system, ensuring users' access to best injection molding solutions and services. Therefore, WINTEC is able to provide high-quality injection molding machines at highly competitive prices and short delivery time for Asia's commercial product applications.

In addition to exploiting its unique technological advantages, WINTEC has been strongly committed to high quality and processing stability of standard products, thereby quickly winning the favor of users in the market. After only two years of development, WINTEC has taken shape. Not only have its employees tripled, but also it has been developing at notable speed, as can be seen from its productivity, i.e., annual output, which currently amounts to about 300 injection molding machines producing mid- to high clamping forces. The key to WINTEC's rapid success in the market can be credited to the high quality of its injection molding machines.

Currently, WINTEC's customers include Chinese enterprises and international enterprises based in Europe or in Asian countries such as South Korea, most of who are suppliers of auto mobiles and white goods. In particular, recent years has seen a lighter and greener trend for auto mobiles. In other words, reducing the weight of vehicle bodies by making them out of plastics instead of steels has gradually become the mainstream of the future development of auto mobiles. According to relevant data, if the weight of a vehicle is reduced by 10%, its fuel efficiency can be improved by 6% to 8%. Peter Auinger held, “This global technological trend has brought tremendous development opportunity to injection molding machine manufacturers including WINTEC. Above all, as an industry leader in automotive lightweight technology, WINTEC succeeded in reducing the vehicle weight of BMW i3 and BMW i8, among others, to greatest possible degree. Besides, with access to all ENGEL's mid-market technologies in this respect, WINTEC has been following this trend in actively expanding its business in the auto mobile market, which accounts for up to 70% of its total business.

Equipped with Servowin Technology and Balance Benefits against Efficiency

Specializing in manufacturing cost-efficient injection molding machines to meet the need in the Asian conventional products markets, WINTEC focuses on questions of users' burning concern, such as productivity, quality and energy efficiency. Its current products include t-win series and e-win series.

At present, The t-win injection moulding machines are available in six sizes with clamping forces of between 4,500 and 17,500 kN. As commented by Peter Auinger on t-win series' energy efficiency, “It should be credited to servowin hydraulic servo technology. The t-win machines are fitted with a servowin servohydraulic as standard. This cuts energy consumption by more than 60 percent in comparison with conventional hydraulic injection moulding machines. The low-energy-consumption t-win series have obtained First Grade Energy Efficiency Certificate (under the GB/T 30200-2013 standard) from National Quality Supervision and Inspection Center of Plastic Machinery. In fact, the actually measured value is 10% to 20% lower than the threshold for First Grade.”

WINTEC's injection molding machines are also equipped with C2 Control System. Developed in Europ and based on ENGEL's operating data software which has been continuously optimized and tested in the past few decades, the system is outstanding in calculating capability and can reduce the risk of misoperation through intuitive operation control. The operating status of the entire machine can be clearly and intuitively displayed on the interface of the Command & Control (C2) Systems, with all important parameters compactly integrated on the shortcut interface. The 15" touch screen was designed in conformity with ergonomic principles. It can flip forward and are height adjustable. Compared with KEBA control system equipped in other injection molding machines, the computing power of Command & Control (C2) Systems equipped in those of WINTEC is 33% higher.

In addition, the full electric e-win series debuted at Chinaplas 2016. Currently, e-win series include two models, differing in clamping force (1000kN and 1800kN, respectively). All movements of e-win are servoelectric. The high precision of the movements ensures stable processes and the highest possible number of good parts. On the one hand, the machines support shorter cycle times through the synchronous movements of the drive axles and the outstanding acceleration of the injection axis (up to 22 m/s²). On the other hand, e-win requires little floor space, while energy consumption is low. Their compact dimensions enhance surface area productivity. All these are important indicators of efficiency for many users, representing the full integration of the current trend of full electric technology, high quality, and excellent productivity.

Keep Close to Local Customers and Build Service Teams

Since its establishment, WINTEC has been expanding its sales and service networks in Asia, with particular attention paid to product quality and customer relations. According to Peter Auinger, though substantial growth of China's car market has come to an end since 2015, the Chinese market is still attractive with huge potentials for further development, especially in the service sector. As he pointed out, there has been a sharp rise in the need of suppliers' services in China in the past few years, bringing another competitive advantage to emerging enterprises like WINTEC: for one thing, it is accessible to ENGEL's perfect service platform in this area; for another, WINTEC is building its wholly independent sales and service networks in China, which can provide quick on-site technical support and thus greatly improve WINTEC's efficiency in providing services. In the view of Peter Auinger, WINTEC currently has a technical support team of 20 employees; since they have been independently trained by WINTEC in both professional expertise and technological ability, they can better meet the needs of Chinese users