(PlasticsToday) -- Its exports sank last year but the Chinese domestic market proved strong enough to drive sales and earnings higher for Haitian, the world's largest manufacturer of injection molding machinery. CTO Helmar Franz predicts continued growth for the company.
Haitian's (Ningbo, China) 2009 sales increased 4.5% versus 2008, with profits also up by 1.3% on sales of about 18,000 molding machines. According to the Association of the Plastics Industry China, the total value of output of the Chinese plastics processing industry declined just 0.2% in 2009. "Our goal remains to be the largest injection molding machine manufacturer in number of machines made and sales...e think we're number 3 or 4 in sales now. We predict we'll be number 1 in the net three years," said Franz.
For Haitian, almost as important to the continued level of business was Chinese processors' willingness to invest in domestically made processing machinery. Franz said that in 2008, about 49% of all processing machinery was imported to China; for 2009 that figure shrank to just 29%.