Niigata Machine Techno Co. Ltd. has formed a joint venture in Japan with Haitian International Holdings Ltd., China’s biggest manufacturer of injection molding equipment.
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Niigata Machine Techno Co. Ltd.'s new Niigata JN1200 press, shown during an open house in May. |
The separate company, Niigata Haitian Injection Molding Machine Co. Ltd., is equally owned by Japanese injection molding machinery maker Niigata and Ningbo-based Haitian and will “focus on the development of electric molding machine technology,” said Peter Gardner, vice president of sales and general manager of Niigata's distribution operations in North America.
The joint venture “will enable Niigata to leverage Haitian Group’s mass production technology and buying power for producing high-precision Japanese molding machines in Japan at a lower cost,” Gardner said.
Niigata will also assist Haitian with improving design and production methods for Haitian’s all-electric injection molding machines. The two companies will each maintain their own separate product lines.
Masaki Kakimoto, Niigata’s managing director, will serve as president and CEO of Niigata Haitian Injection Molding Machine Co. Ltd.
“Niigata Machine Techno sources components and material through Haitian at a cheaper cost to lower the machine production cost,” Kakimoto said. “Haitian can learn manufacturing know-how [and] quality control from Niigata to improve their product quality.”
Kakimoto stated that Niigata will continue to make all of its machines in Japan. The company uses some components from Haitian, but final assembly, test runs and quality control are still done at its Niigata City, Japan, factory, he added. “Niigata Machine Techno maintains the same quality and capability as before,” Kakimoto said. “Low-cost models have been released already, and the quality is strictly controlled by Niigata to keep Japan quality.”
At the International Plastic Fair in Japan this past October, Niigata introduced its new, low-cost CNS series all-electric machines, which are built at the company’s Niigata City factory. Casting and other mechanical components are supplied by Haitian.
The CNS series machines will cost about 20 percent less than Niigata’s standard MD series, Gardner said. The machines are available in clamping forces ranging from 50-100 tons.
