Country Focus and sonotrodes was a first time exhibitor. Sales Engineer Kai Broek said the company intends to push its machines in the Southeast Asian market and will use Indonesia as its centre for providing regional support, having already established a customer base in Malaysia and Singapore. German machinery supplier Kiefel Technologies, which also has a sales and service centre in Indonesia, noted the consistency of the show, compared to the previous year. "0verall, the quality of the exhibitors is better," said Volker Schubert, Area Sales Manager, Packaging Industry. Volker Schubert, Area Sales Manager, Packaging Industry of Kiefel noted the consistent quality of the trade exhibition
Dutch thermoplastics compounding specialist Resin Products & Technology was also a first time exhibitor at the event. Project Manager Nick van Hussen said the company is expanding to Indonesia and will start up a production facility in Jakarta by 2014. The new plant, which will be the company's first sales and service and manufacturing centre in Asia, will serve as the hub for the region, he said, “But R&D will still be based in Holland,” he added. Shift to European technology Italian closures machine maker Sacmi, which has a regional representative office in Jakarta, has already an established clientele in the Southeast Asian region. Sales Manager Rimon Novianto Hernawan noted that in Indonesia, the plastic packaging and beverage closures market is capping the demand for machinery. Hernawan observed that while Chinese machines are popular among Indonesian startups, these manufacturers, after a few years in business, procure European machines, like Sacmi machinery that uses 100% Italian technology. Exhibiting for the fifth time, Swiss thermoforming machine manufacturer WM Wrapping Machinery, which displayed its INTEC series, also expressed the same purchase
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Propak exhibitor WM Wrapping Machinery displayed its INTEC series at the show
pattern among local manufacturers. Speaking on behalf of the company, Ryan Darmawan of PT Finson Indomas, its Indonesian marketing arm, said that European machines offer efficiency, stability and quality for the production process. The company has its sales and after sales office in Indonesia but has no plans to set up a manufacturing facility, he said. Meanwhile, Peter Rieg, Regional Sales Manager for German extrusion machinery firm Battenfeld-Cincinnati, expressed his optimism for the Indonesian market, specifically in the context of the packaging segment. “There is a big market for packaging of fruit and sweet drinks. The demand requires reliable machines.” He said that Battenfeld-Cincinnati works together with German thermoforming machine maker Gabler to offer a complete system solely for Indonesian customers. Gabler, which has factories in China, the US, India and Europe, has no plans to set up a plant in Indonesia. Japanese/German injection moulding machine maker Sumitomo Heavy Industries (SHI) is also witnessing a burgeoning demand for high quality machines, especially for the food and beverage, pharmaceutical and electronic/electrical sectors, according to its Indonesian sales representative Zulkarnain. While quality technology comes with a price, SHI has machine offerings depending on the price as well as requirement. “For the Indonesian market, we have the MLSD series, which is economically priced. Likewise, we offer higherend machines (for food-approved applications),” he said. While Indonesia is an important market for SHI, the company has no plans to set up a facility and machines will still come from Germany “to maintain the quality standards”, he said.