Interview Giorgi Santella, Piovan (pdf)

PRESS RELEASE
About EUROMAP
EUROMAP, the umbrella organisation for the European plastics and rubber machinery industry,
represents around 40 percent of worldwide production, amounting to a value of over € 29 bn and
accounting for around 50% of export volume, which in turn amounts to more than € 19 bn. This
important industry is made up of around 1,000 companies. Member associations are located in
Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and United Kingdom.
China – Investment in energy-saving measures pays off
Frankfurt, April 9, 2014 – CHINAPLAS 2014: Interview with Giorgio Santella, Chief
Marketing Officer at Piovan
EUROMAP: China is one of the most important, if not the most important, sales market for exports
of plastics and rubber machinery from the EUROMAP countries. More than 10 percent of all
EUROMAP exports, which amounted to around € 930m, were delivered there in 2012. How
important is the market in China for Piovan compared with other geographical markets in which
you do business and how important do you expect it to be for Piovan in future?
Santella: China is a very important market for Piovan, both strategically and tactically. We have
been present in China since the early 1990’s with commercial representatives and shortly
afterwards we also established a direct presence. The Chinese plastics industry presents great
opportunities and enormous potential, as it involves thousands of companies generating
extraordinary production volumes. Many European and American companies established
presence in China in the latest fifteen years, all expecting to replicate the operational conditions
present in their western locations and therefore looking for partners like Piovan who are able to
provide high level equipment and services. China is a country where we have set up a production
facility, along with those in Italy, Germany, USA and Brazil.
EUROMAP General Secretariat
c/o VDMA • FV KuG
Lyoner Str. 18
DE 60528 Frankfurt am Main
Phone + 49 (69) 6603-1832
Fax + 49 (69) 6603-2832
E-Mail: [email protected]
-2-
EUROMAP: Which industries and end product application areas are the most important or offer
most potential for Piovan in China?
Santella: Packaging, automotive and electronics are the application areas that see us very
involved and present. All three sectors are very developed and utilise advanced production
technologies. Our strategy here is to offer equipment and solutions specifically developed for
those applications, as we normally do in other territories. Our approach to the market is to provide
a level of service going far beyond just machinery supply. The knowledge level of our Chinese
teams is very much in line with that in other territories.
Our customers in China were initially entirely made up of western companies that had set up
plants in China. But today it is a very good balance – in terms of value more Chinese companies,
as they are mainly involved with large packaging systems, while the global companies still account
for the greater value due their covering automotive and electronics areas with smaller systems.
For medical, the number one market is the USA, but we are also active in China, e.g. with
equipment designed for cleanroom moulding operations.
EUROMAP: Which form of local presence does Piovan have in China?
Santella: Our Chinese headquarters are located in Suzhou, near Shanghai. We have a 10,000
square metre production facility, inaugurated in 2013, where we produce a good part of our
equipment range. But some most complex products are only produced at our main production site
in Italy.
Piovan started to produce in China in 2004. Since then we have expanded our production
capabilities three times. That is to say that the rate of growth of a company like Piovan, which
primarily provides technologically advanced solutions, can be unexpectedly intense.
China is a large country, which we follow through service and sales centres located in Shanghai,
Beijing and Shenzhen, also with seminars mainly in Suzhou, but in the other centres too. Proximity
to the most industrialised areas of the country has been one of our success factors. Production in
China is not sufficient to demonstrate solid presence, as along with such a fundamental element,
our customers also expect us to follow them with skilled personnel close enough to guarantee
prompt support.
-3It is also remarkable to say that our structure includes a headcount of 100 staff in China alone. It
enables us to not only offer standard equipment, also in partnership with all the western injection
moulding machine producers, but also to design and engineer specific customer solutions in
China.
It is inevitable that some local companies have copied our equipment principles, designs,
concepts and appearance, and we keep an eye on them. But it all comes down to the service you
offer to meet customer needs, not just the equipment. There is no reason to be afraid if you have
robust, reliable equipment.
EUROMAP: How important do you think aspects of overall efficiency and energy consumption of
plastics & rubber machinery are for Chinese plastics processors today?
Santella: Efficiency and reliability of operation are the two distinctive features of all our equipment.
We extend those characteristics as much as we can to each and every service we provide to our
customers. We approached the Chinese market with such values and today we can proudly say
that our strategy was very correct.
For example, with equipment drying PET with low 69.2 Wh/kg specific energy consumption, with
which we have been successful also in China at large beverage companies. This equipment costs
much more, but it is still popular in China due to the huge energy savings, as is our self-adapting
cooling system that cuts cooling energy by up to 50%, which can mean 25% lower part costs. It
has flexibility to automatically switch between environmental night air or internal daytime cooling.
Chinese processors also appreciate our digital temperature control units for individual mould-bymould heating and cooling control without needing large central water lines or an outside chiller. In
fact, some of the lines using this equipment are produced at our Suzhou plant, in view of the high
demand.
EUROMAP: What role does CHINAPLAS 2014 as the worldwide second largest plastics industry
fair play in helping Piovan to achieve its goals in China by development and maintenance of
contacts among plastics processors and end-user industries?
Santella: CHINAPLAS is a very important event for a company like us that has thousands of
customers worldwide. We have been present at CHINAPLAS already for many years, both in
Shanghai and in Guangzhou, and have seen it grow impressively.
-4Today we take great advantage of CHINAPLAS to set up appointments with known customers and
generate contacts with new ones. Piovan has been in business for 80 years, by the way this year
we celebrate our 50th anniversary in the plastics industry, and in spite of the tens of thousands of
customers that rely on our products and services, we value an appointment like CHINAPLAS as
being both strategic and important, as we know it will allow us to further spread our presence
within the global plastics industry.
In fact, although it is a major show for the entire Asian region, it is no longer a local show but
becoming a worldwide show like the K in Düsseldorf, as today everyone goes to CHINAPLAS.
Although the K remains the best with new applications, etc, CHINAPLAS is gaining ground,
especially with the attraction of its present location in Shanghai
Captions:
Image 1: Giorgio Santella
For queries please contact:
Thorsten Kühmann, Secretary General of EUROMAP
Phone: +49 69 6603-1831, E-Mail: [email protected]
Further information about EUROMAP: www.euromap.org

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