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Medical Plastics Market Offers Promise
For Western Firms In Brussels in December, many
speakers at the Plastics in Medical Devices conference agreed that the developed
markets, unlike in many other areas of the plastics industry, will lead growth
in medical plastics. Chairman Iain Simpson, associate director
of the global medical technology practice at UK-based Cambridge Consultants,
noted that the US market is worth $100 billion, while the European Union market
adds up to $70 billion. “The markets in China, India and
Brazil will double in size up to 2015 but, overall, they will remain a very
small part of the global market,” he said. “For example, the spend per diabetic
is 10 times higher in the U.S. compared to Asia, and southeast Asia accounts for
only 0.8 percent of global expenditure.” During a panel
discussion, Chris Nother, director of business development at Nypro, noted that
the medical markets in countries such as China still pose problems for Western
companies. “In China, we don’t know whether traditional
medicine will last,” he said. “We expect the East will become more Westernized
but we can’t be sure. Does the East really want to emulate the West?”
Other panel speakers said how the size of countries in Asia can cause problems
for Western companies interested in establishing a base there.
Bert Heijne from Eastman said: “It takes time to build up the technical
expertise of companies you want to work with. My colleagues in China have huge
distances to cover as they have to go and see all the people they work with.”
(Ref :
http://plasticsnews.com/china/english/injectionmolding/
headlines2.html?id=1328332290 )
Husky Opens Chennai, India, Operation
Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. has opened its new factory in Chennai,
India, targeting both that country and other nations in the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation, which includes Bangladesh, Pakistan and
Sri Lanka. “We have invested about 100 crore (1 billion
rupees, or US$20.3 million),” said N. Hari Prakash, managing director of Husky
Injection Molding Systems (Chennai) Pvt. Ltd., in an interview at the Plastindia
trade show. “This new facility would allow us to provide prompt service in terms
of local supply of spare parts to our growing clientele in the region with
minimum downtime.” Husky, based in Bolton, Ontario, said it
has at least US$40 million in business from its Indian operations and expects
sales to rise since it will no longer have to import as much from its European
or Chinese factories. “We are expecting a 10 to 15 percent
hike in annual business,” Prakash said. The 60,000 square foot
facility will house a technical center and focus on mold conversion as well as
mold and hot runner refurbishment for local preform manufacturers. Trial
production in Chennai started in January, with commercial production set to
begin in March. At Plastindia, held Feb. 1-6 in New Delhi, the
company showed its H-PET AE (all-electric) preform manufacturing system, making
its public debut in India. The system was running a 32 cavity mold producing a
19 gram preform for a one liter water bottle. The company was
also showing its Ultra Sidegate and UltraSync hot runner systems for the first
time in India. (Ref :
http://www.plasticsnews.com/china/english/
headlines2.html?id=1329626485 ) |
