Maplan adding plants in China, Slovakia

Kottingbrunn,  Austria – Rubber moulding machine maker Maplan is establishing new manufacturing facilities in China and Slovakia, officials said 31 May when opening a two-day customer event at the company’s manufacturing base in Kottingbrunn.

The expansion moves are part of the family-owned Austrian company’s strategy to grow turnover from €40 million today to around €70 million by 2021, according to CEO Wolfgang Meyer.

This September, he announced, Maplan will begin production of injection machines in China – its first ever moulding-machine manufacturing operation outside of Austria.

The 3,300 m² unit, at a rented industrial facility in Wujin, Changzhou, will be operated by an independent subsidiary, Maplan (Changzhou) Rubber Machinery Co. Ltd. The location is about 180km north-west of Shanghai, where Maplan has an established service base.

The Wujin facility (pictured above) will produce machines to European factory specifications but adapted for the Chinese market. Starting with an initial output of 10-15 machines, Meyer said the site has a potential to produce up to 200 machines per year. Investment there, so far, stands at just over €2 million.

In Slovakia, meanwhile, Maplan has invested €8 million to build a factory for the manufacture of machined-metal and electrical components. Production of these parts and modules has been largely outsourced up to now.

The 3,500 m² workshop facility in Malacky, near Bratislava, offers lower-cost, skilled labour than in Austria and logistical advantages, being just 130km away from Kottingbrunn, explained Meyer. The unit is due to open in the first quarter of 2018. 

Maplan’s capacity has more than doubled to around 300 rubber moulding machines since 2011. The increase is largely due to the company’s €12-million relocation to its new home base, from nearby Ternitz about a year ago.