Chinese Injection Machine Builder Restructures U.S. Operations

Injection molding machine maker Ningbo Haitian Group Co. Ltd. in Ningbo, China, has formed a sales and service partnership with Absolute Machinery, Worcester, Mass. The new organization, named Absolute Haitian, will act as a separate business that is the exclusive sales and distribution point for Haitian machinery in North America. The new company will operate out of a 25,000-sq-ft facility in Worcester, says industry veteran Glenn Frohring, v.p. of sales and marketing for the new entity. Ningbo Haitian is said to be one of the largest machinery suppliers in the world, having shipped over 14,000 units last year. It is closing its two previous U.S. sites—Haitian Machinery N.A. in Itasca, Ill., and Haitian Machinery Canada Co. Ltd. in Mississauga, Ont. Absolute Haitian is planning to add regional locations in the U.S. and in Canada, says Frohring. In Europe, Ningbo Haitian recently set up a company called Zhafir Plastics Machinery in Schwabisch Gmund, Germany, to produce a premium line of all-electric presses using European components. The machines will be assembled in Germany, though most of the machines will be shipped to Asia.