Driving IMM technology forward Jon Wai

DRIVING IMM TECHNOLOGY FORWARD

Jon Wai is one of Taiwan’s longest established and most successful manufacturers of injection moulding machines for the plastics industry. Philip Yorke talked to Martina Hsu, the company’s marketing director, about its latest innovative products and move into new markets.

Jon Wai Machinery Works Co. Ltd has been at the forefront of plastics technology since it was founded in 1971. Its two state of-the-art factories are located in Tainan, Taiwan and Kunshan in China. These modern plants boast over 400,000 square feet of manufacturing floor space and are capable of producing over 1500 sets of plastic injection moulding machines every year. Today the company sets the standards for others and remains an independent operating company with a global sales and service network that covers more than 50 countries worldwide.

Innovation driving sales

Innovation has been at the heart of the Jon Wai business culture since its foundation. The company is the IMM technology leader and for more than 40 years has been contributing to the improved efficiency, performance and energy-saving properties of IMMs (Injection Moulding Machines). In addition to offering a faster cycle time the machines also provide self-control systems and other labour-saving devices. The company operates an on-going investment programme and has its own in-house R&D department that is committed to keeping Jon Wai one step ahead of its competitors.

Jon Wai is also Taiwan’s top exporter of Injection Moulding Machines and its diverse product portfolio includes two-colour/ material products, thin-walled products, TV cover sets and auto parts. The company has five multinational OEM customers located in Europe, Japan and the USA.

High-end solutions

Jon Wai has been broadening its product portfolio and customer appeal recently by providing higher-end product solutions. Some of the latest developments include ventures into what could be the first injectioncompression system and advances in multi-part moulding. Jon Wai’s new machines offer higher speeds, tighter precision and new capabilities that are designed to help moulders break into new markets.

Hsu said, “We have further improved our SE series to provide wider platens with bigger mould space than before. This year we have significantly reduced the machine sizes and cut the clamping force by more than 100 tonnes, whilst providing greater efficiency and energy saving parameters for our customers. We are the most

innovative IMM manufacturer and we also do the programming ourselves, even providing programming services for our customers who want to have different or special machine sequences. Furthermore, we make no charge for changing a programme or upgrading one: all it takes is an e-mail request to us and we can send the programme by e-mail ready for use!”

K-Show firsts

Hsu continued, “Since 1995 we have been represented at the K show and this year we will be showcasing our latest SLIM machine range with its advanced toggle system which makes our dry cycle time faster, and this product is a big star for us. It is very, very fast and the low power consumption is remarkable at only 0.25Kw per Kilo for PP & PE. This power consumption is very competitive to allelectric machines and yet with lower cost and low maintenance.”

Hsu added, “As far as the future is concerned we are providing more and more of our machines with robotics and are now able to offer a one-stop shop service. The trends in the marketplaces are different, for example in the USA IMM machine sales are driven by the quality of the engineering, whereas in Asia it is very much a case of sales being driven by price constraints. Our customers’ focus is very much on service and reliability and we recognise the importance of after-sales services, which is why we keep considerable stocks of spare parts with our agents across the world, in order to guarantee fast delivery.

“Currently our biggest markets are China, Asia and the US; however we see Brazil, Mexico and eastern Europe as important growth markets for us and are now taking steps to increase our presence in other interesting emerging markets such as Peru, Chile and South Africa. We are winning market share wherever we go thanks to being better, faster and greener!”

Tandem moulding

Jon Wai has been upgrading its tandem moulding technology and is producing 32-inch ABS television covers in a 1+1 tool on a 1200tonne JW-1200TP press. Jon Wai has managed to trim the weight of the back cover to 900g and expects to further shorten the overall cycle. The company says that having parts with up to 30 per cent difference in weight can be moulded using a tandem or family mould approach while reducing overall costs by as much as 40 per cent.

Jon Wai has also produced a range of two colour (TC) injection presses with wider platens. A new 250-tonne, two colour 250TCW press features a platen that measures 1205 X 760mm which is significantly wider than the standard TC models. The new unit will produce 10-inch H-P tablet covers from ABS and TPU on a 1+1 mould. n

For further details of Jon Wai’s latest innovative products and services visit: www.jonwai.com