Industry News
Solvay sets out SEA plans; facility in the planning
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olvay Engineering Plastics (EP), which has been present commercially in the ASEAN countries for many years, with activities undertaken exclusively through distribution channels, is expanding its presence in the region. According to Frank Laganier, Asia-Pacific Director for Solvay EP, speaking to PRA during the Plastindia exhibition in Gandhinagar, India, the company is strengthening its presence “specifically in Indonesia, Thailand and to a lesser extent Malaysia and Singapore as we see strong growth potential in those countries (especially in the former two).” The company’s deployment plan includes three major initiatives: setting up local Solvay commercial offices/sales teams; strengthening its distribution coverage with additional partners as well as added capabilities (new warehouses, logistics solutions, additional sales and technical team)
as well as studying the feasibility of setting up a compounding plant. Laganier said, “We have already started in Indonesia where a Solvay office in Jakarta was inaugurated at the end of last year, and where we have put in place our commercial team. This will ensure closer contact with our main global customers present in the country as well as better support and interaction with our distributors. In Thailand, where we already have a Solvay office, we are recruiting a team of sales persons as well as customer technical support engineers (the latter having a mission to support our customers in the area for any technical support, ranging from product selection to customer training to troubleshooting).” As for setting up a compounding facility, Laganier says, “At this stage no decision has been made but we are seriously contemplating investing
Solvay’s facility in Changshu, China
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MARCH / APRIL 2015
in local manufacturing to be closer to our customers and improve our ability to provide quick response to their requests.” In addition, considering the large number of Japanese companies active in the region (especially in Thailand and Indonesia), Laganier adds that Solvay has built up its presence in Japan (where it already has offices and a technical centre) “to be able to support them both locally in Japan and overseas in Southeast Asia.” Meanwhile, when asked about the sales growth of Solvay EP, 40% of Solvay EP’s worldwide sales is in the overall APAC [AsiaPacific] region (up 2% from 38% the previous year), thereby reflecting the increasing importance of APAC for Solvay EP. Laganier expects double digit growth in Southeast Asia in 2015, in spite of the global economy slowdown. “While growth in Thailand took a step back in 2014 (both due to the unrest at the beginning of the year and - more significantly - the end of incentives for car purchases) we, expect a strong recovery in Thailand this year. We also expect continuous growth in Indonesia and additional sales in Malaysia. This will continue to be driven by the car production growth and increased use of PA (polyamide) plastic material in each car, but also by more demand from the two-wheeler industry in Indonesia and from electric protection and appliances manufacturers.”
As for which specific product groups in EP’s portfolio are expected to push the growth in Southeast Asia, Laganier says, “We have similar expectations in Southeast Asia as we do in other countries in Asia, i.e. to be able to provide high performance PA solutions to the market to foster metal replacement and UL certified flame retardant materials (supported by our UL certified lab in Shanghai).” He also went on to say that a specific focus will be on the company‘s Technyl range of products, with an emphasis of high glass fibre-reinforced polyamide grades for metal replacement, and the recently introduced Technyl One material for high temperature and high flow requirements. “This will be supported by our application labs in APAC (Shanghai and Seoul) with in particular the use of our predictive simulation software MMI - that enables quick and reliable design and performance validation for new plastic parts.” In summary, Laganier says that Solvay EP sees a lack of truly global companies firmly committed to Southeast Asia. “We intend to demonstrate Solvay EP’s dedication to support the development of our existing and new customers in this region. This will determine the decisions we make and the products and services we introduce in Southeast Asia.”
INDUSTRY NEWS
Kraiburg on a TPE drive in India
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gainst the backdrop of a growing plastics sector in India, three years ago, Germany-headquartered thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) maker Kraiburg set up a head office and warehouse in Bangalore, as well as three sales contact points in Pune, to cover the West Indian region; and Delhi and
Chennai to cover the North Indian and South Indian regions, respectively. It has already won half the battle of an uphill task of educating the Indian market of TPEs, said Addy Purandare, Director of Kraiburg India. The automotive market is a forerunner for TPEs, especially for interior and exterior components, Roland Ritter, Director of Asia Pacific, and Addy Purandare, Director Kraiburg India, seen here at the Plastindia booth
said Addy. “Kraiburg is strong in soft TPEs for interiors and window seals. In Germany, window profiles are made of TPEs but in India they are still made of PVC. So we are making a concerted effort to change the market to a more environmentally friendly material.“ Addy is of the opinion that with growing consumer affluence, environmental consciousness will follow. He also explained that Kraiburg increased its market share in the automotive sector, even though the market shrank last year. Kraiburg also serves other sectors such as multi-component moulding and insert moulding TPEs for a wide
range of engineering thermoplastics such as PC, PC/ABS, POM, PA6 and PBT. This year, Addy is looking forward to sales growth to more than double, and for this reason is adding on more human resources to support the expected growth. A moulder won‘t buy a material just like that. We need local influence. The strength of a company should be to have a local approach with an international mentality. Kraiburg is able to offer this advantage,“ concluded Addy. Kraiburg has production sites in Germany, the US and Malaysia.