Husky expanding in China to meet customer demand

Husky is to build a manufacturing factory in China that will be fully operational in 2014 in a bid to meet customer demand.

The equipment supplier for injection molding purchased 53,000 square meters of land in the Suzhou region from the local government.

The ongoing investment agreement will reduce lead times and has significant opportunity for expansion, said the firm.

Investment types

Husky has also made investments in hot runner refurbishing and manufacturing and mold conversion capacity to serve the beverage packaging and closures business.

Husky Injection Molding Systems first established a presence in the region in 2004, with the Shanghai Technical Centre has doubled its footprint with expansions in 2006 and 2009.

The centre is responsible for service and sales, development engineering, human resources, finance, machine assembly and hot runner manufacturing.

Keith Carlton, chief operating officer for Husky told FoodProductionDaily.com the strong demand for plastics helped fuel customer growth.

Our Suzhou site will provide injection molding equipment to customers who manufacture products in a number of key markets, including beverage packaging, medical and consumer electronics.”

“Strong increase in demand for plastics in the region has helped fuel customer growth and we have been fortunate enough to grow with our customers.

To improve customer support and shorten lead times, Husky plans to establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing location that will expand our capabilities in the region.”

Long standing relationship

Carlton said the firm had a long standing relationship with customers in the region.

Asia Pacific is a growing market for Husky and investing now will ensure we are able to meet the needs of our rapidly growing customer base in this region.

“As Husky continues to grow and change, we will continue to evaluate our operations in Asia Pacific to determine how to best meet the needs of our customers.

“While China represents one of Husky’s largest and fastest growing markets, we have a significant manufacturing presence in other countries around the world," he said. 

“Our philosophy is to “follow our customer” and provide local support in the form of sales, service and manufacturing capabilities.

“Suzhou is our next step in improving our ability to serve the growing market in Asia Pacific.”