The German-Japanese injection moulding machine manufacturer Sumitomo (SHI) Demag grows in 2020 with an increase in order intake despite the economic downturn in the plastics processing industry.

From January to August 2020, the order intake of the company with its production plants in Germany and China increased by 24% compared to the same period in 2019, to €183.7 million. The growth is primarily due to an extensive number of multiple machine orders in the packaging, medical technology and electronics sectors.

For the financial year 2020, it is anticipated that the total order intake to reach €275 million, representing an increase of 19% year-on-year (YOY).

While from January to August, the cumulative annual turnover amounts to €152.3 million, dropped by 19% compared to the same period of 2019. It is projected that total turnover of the financial year 2020 to reach €250 million, representing a decrease of 12% YOY.

A breakthrough year for all-electric machines

Sumitomo (SHI) Demag is benefiting from the increase in demand for all-electric machines. Compared to ten years ago when only one in five machines was fully electric, now the market share in Europe accounts for 50% of all small and medium-sized injection moulding machines, according to the company.

The all-electric IntElect series is one of the company's growth engines.

The packaging industry is also increasingly ordering all-electric machines, especially for applications with low and medium injection speeds. Here, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s market share has increased to 30%.

“We want to gradually close the price gap between hydraulic and fully electric machines. This will be achieved through global sourcing, optimization of machine design and in-house production of drive technology optimized for the injection moulding process. These factors combined makes the costs and performance of our IntElect series highly competitive,” said Gerd Liebig, CEO Sumitomo (SHI) Demag.

Currently, more than 70,000 all-electric machines produced in Japan and Germany have been delivered worldwide. As of 2020, the IntElect has also been manufactured in China, Japan.

Medicine is booming, automotive remains flat

Demand for automotive industry solutions fell by almost 70% in 2020. In contrast, demand for medical technology solutions rose by almost 50%. The company does not expect a significant correction of the market this year, which has fallen by approximately one third in the past two years.

Rising replacement requirements from the automotive industry and the continuing high demand for machines from the packaging and medical technology sectors will slightly improve demand for injection moulding machines next year. However, full compensation for the drop in demand is unlikely to be achieved before 2024.

Strategic focus on different markets

In response to the marekt outlook, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag has consolidate its market strategic focuses for the following main industries:

Automotive

• Interior (Multi, IMD, IML)

• Electronic components (LSR, BMC)

• Lighting (LSR)

Packaging

• Thin-wall

• Caps

• Pails

Medical

• In-Vitro Diagnostics

• Pharma packaging

• Respiratory Devices

Electronics

• Electric precision parts (Connectors, LSR)

• Electric functional parts (RFID, Thermoset)

• Consumer Electronics (IMD, IML)

Thanks to a solidarity package agreed between the management and the workers council at the two sites in Wiehe and Schwaig in Germany, the company has to-date not made any redundancies for operational reasons.