When it comes to building lines for pipe, profile and sheet production, KraussMaffei Berstorff extends its boundaries beyond Munich itself. Since 2006 the company has also been manufacturing extrusion lines in Haiyan, China with comparable output figures and high machine quality and performance. Why should the Chinese buy the higher sophisticated lines produced in Europe and, by the same token, why should a company orientated towards the West not invest in less expensive Chinese lines? With a view to finding answers to these questions, we spoke with Andreas Kessler, General Sales Manager at KraussMaffei Berstorff Munich and a sales veteran for KraussMaffei Berstorff in China.
Andreas Kessler, General Sales Manager, KraussMaffei Berstorff Munich, next to profile extrusion line headed by a KMD 90-32/P twin screw extruder (photos: KraussMaffei)
Andreas Kessler: “We manufacture 36D twin screw extruders for PVC pipes and 32D twin screw extruders for window profiles not only in Munich but also in China. We are the only ones in the market who have been doing this since 2006.” (photos: KraussMaffei)
Plastics: Mr Kessler, the key data for the Chinese and the European extruders strike a similar chord.
Kessler: You’re absolutely correct. We resolved, from the outset, that we would apply the latest technology to our manufacturing activities in China too and not simply re-animate our old equipment concepts. This means that we manufacture 36D twin screw extruders for PVC pipes and 32D twin screw extruders for window profiles not only in Munich but also in China. We are the only ones in the market who have been doing this since 2006.
Plastics: Was there no possibility of servicing the Asian – or, more specifically, the Chinese market – on the basis of the old concepts?
Kessler: I think that might have been an option ten years ago, but in China KraussMaffei Berstorff stands for reliability, high performance, production stability and long service life. The Chinese are also prepared to pay more for this than for equipment from local suppliers. And this, in our view, also includes present day technology.
Plastics: Once a company is acknowledged in China it is, from a Chinese perspective, the pinnacle of praise and something to be emulated. How much “praise” do you get locally?
Kessler: Well, off the cuff I can think of three local producers who are plagiarising our equipment. Their own equipment doesn’t match with our level of performance. In all probability this is because we use sophisticated design and technology.
Plastics: In China investment decisions are not based on the same criteria that we use in Europe. One particular factor is that they are not very interested in whether a specific technology will pay for itself in four or five years. The horizon there is considerably more short term.
Kessler: Even that is only true to a limited extent. In China a rethink has taken place. There people think a lot about saving resources. It is not only the consumption of energy and materials that is constantly undergoing more intensive scrutiny, we are also noticing this when it comes to spare parts. A replacement screw for our lines is roughly a third of the cost if you buy it from a local Chinese supplier. However, such items have a notably short service life. This means that the manufacturer is faced, in addition to quality problems, with increased expenditure on logistics to contend with and, in the end, a tripling of steel consumption. A rethink starts to take place here.
Among producers, an awareness of high quality machinery is beginning to develop on an increasing scale, in ohter wordsthe ‘low cost’ culture is on the retreat. People are placing greater emphasis on factors such as high quality machine components, extensive expertise in process technology and machine performance capability. More and more we find parameters such as energy efficiency, sustainability, material savings, protection against wear, maintenance of close tolerances, higher end product quality and Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) playing a critical part in purchasing decisions made by local manufacturers. The only thing that is slightly on the retreat is “getting it cheap”!
Plastics: OK, so we have up-to-date technology, we have lines that represent value for money by comparison to Europe yet western customers still want equipment made in Munich. How is the Asian – or, more especially, the Chinese market – shaping up?
Kessler: Although the lines from Europe and Asia are, in principle, based on the same technology, they are nevertheless different. The lines in China have been standardised to a high degree to enable them to make inroads into the price segment.
In Asia and China there is a strong focus on pipes. The PVC pipe segment finds its usage mostly in gravity applications. PO pipes are basically used for pressure pipe application such as infrastructure, plumbing, hot and cold water pipes. Materials not only sourced from US or European suppliers but also imported from Japan and Korea (for example PP, PE RT and PB) are popular here; as far as multi-layer production is concerned, multi-layer aluminium composite pipes are widespread, although multi-layer plastic pipes tend to gain more and more market share.
Andreas Kessler: “Up to now something like 70% of production has gone to regional manufacturers.”
Plastics: In how far are your machines designed to run production with locally based material?
Kessler: It was from the beginning on an integral component of our Performance series – produced in Haiyan – to incorporate Asian material types. Raw materials from Asian supplier are tested in our Technical Centre in Haiyan and the machines laid out correspondingly from a processing point of view. In this consequence the processing know-how of the locally sourced material is well known to us and our extruders and production lines are customised according to the process requirements of our Asian and Chinese customers.
Plastics: I infer from this that you not only supply western manufacturers who have established production workshops in Asia, but that you also sell a large proportion to regional processing companies?
Kessler: Up to now something like 70% of production has gone to regional manufacturers. We are also more than a little proud of the fact that these companies have been loyal customers for a long time. Ten years ago we supplied a line to a small factory who started business; today this customer has several production plants everywhere in China (naturally incorporating our equipment).
Plastics: One final word: you come from Northern Germany, you spent many years in China and have now been living in Bavaria for several years. Where did you find you encountered the greatest culture shock?
Kessler: Hmm, in both regions the culture and the language are different to where I come from originally, but once you accept this and have come to terms with it, you’ll have no problems getting by in either.
Plastics: Thank you very much, Mr Kessler.
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