http://www.AdsaleCMJ.com/Publicity/Interview/lang-eng/Listing.aspxCMJ Machine - 5-minute InterviewOperating under the Hanjiang Machine Tools Co Ltd (HJMTC), HJMTC Ball Screw and Guideway Branch has been a leading domestic manufacturer of rolling functional parts in China, having a market share of almost 40% in the country for both ball screws and linear guideways. CMJ recently talked to Yan Huqin, a senior engineer in China and head of the branch.CMJ: Could you briefly introduce your company to us?Mr Yan: After two decades of development, now we have 15,000sq m of area for production, and our constant temperature area is 5,000sq m. We have more than 150 units of metal cutting machines as well as different types of sophisticated, large-sized and unique equipment. We are equipped with Swiss RG-2000 CNC thread grinders and Japanese-made circular arc tooth profile measuring machines. In addition, we possess self-developed 5m laser measuring machines as well as 3m dual frequency laser dynamic measuring machines developed by Shanghai University of Science and Technology. All these make us a leader in the dynamic measurement of ball screws in China.Furthermore, we implement computerized management (personnel, production and sales) and with CAD/CAM capabilities, we have established complete process and quality assurance systems for the processing of precision ball screws and guideways.As far as our products are concerned, our HJG-S series precision ball screws have for many years been recognized as "products with satisfaction from domestic users" by China Association for Quality (CAQ) and the "national CNC machine tool users' committee". They are also recommended to users as quality products that can substitute imported products.We strive to develop ourselves into a first-class manufacturing base of rolling functional parts in China. We are ISO9002-certified. We are also the base of Shaanxi's provincial research center for the research and development of series products of rolling functional parts.CMJ: China has long been relying on imports for high-end ball screws. How is Hanjiang doing in this market segment?Mr Yan: Hanjiang has been putting in a lot of efforts in developing auxiliary equipment and accessories that can substitute imported products used in equipment for the industries of automotive engine manufacturing, tools and measuring instruments, aviation, metallurgy and turbines. For instance, we have been mass producing heavy-load ball screws with uniform loading design. They have been delivered to users as substitutes of imported products. Another example is the 5m long hollow ball screw model GQ70×20×4680×5245, which is for use in gantry-type machining centers. I can say we have made outstanding achievements in offering products that can substitute imported ones in the high-end ball screw market segment in China.CMJ: What plans does Hanjiang have for the 12th Five-year Plan period?Mr Yan: Our plans for the 12th Five-year Plan is built on the foundation we have established with our present production factory and machinery upgrade progress. We are planning to acquire new land to build an industrial zone for rolling functional parts so that we will be able to catch up with the need for industrialization of these parts. We will also largely invest in CNC processing equipment and strive to expand our production scales in ball screws and linear guideways. Furthermore, we will set up or enhance our precision measuring department and performance testing laboratory. It is to ensure that we will possess complete technology and equipment in precision measurement, holistic performance testing and reliability testing. Our target is that by the end of the 12th Five-year Plan period, we will have the capacity to produce 500,000 sets of ball screws and 200,000m of linear guideways per year.http://www.adsalecmj.com/Publicity/Interview/lang-eng/article-468/Article.aspxTowards the end of last year, Mori Seiki announced the opening of its Shanghai Solution Center. CMJ learned more about this from Xu Xiaodong, an engineer at Mori Seiki (Shanghai) Co Ltd, at the Mori Seiki productivity day jointly organized by Mori Seiki and Pro-Technic Machinery Ltd at the Pro-Technic Complex in Dongguan, China.CMJ: Could you give an introduction to Mori Seiki Shanghai Solution Center?Mr Xu: The establishment of the center shows that Mori Seiki is attaching great importance to the China market. With the Shanghai Solution Center, we strive to do our best to provide more comprehensive technical support with respect to our machining solutions, related engineering technology, cutting tools, clamping tools, operational training, factory automation, etc. It will help us better serve our customers in China and Asia.The new Solution Center has a total area of 10,000sq m on four stories. It includes Mori Seiki's first showroom in China, in which we show three types of machines: CNC turn mill centers, multi-axis machining centers, and machining centers. It also includes an accessories center, training center, sales center and service center, so we are able to provide outstanding technical support for our Chinese customers. It also enables us to shorten our delivery time by a large extent. All in all, we strive to provide the best-in-class technology and complete manufacturing solutions for our customers.CMJ: Please briefly introduce Mori Seiki's unique technology and their advantages.Mr Xu: Some of Mori Seiki's original technologies include: DGC (Driven at the Center of Gravity), DDM (Direct Drive Motor), BMT (Built-in Motor Turret) and ORC (Octagonal Ram Construction).DCG is effective in reducing the vibration while a structural component of the machine moves. As vibration is minimized, the quality of machined surfaces and accuracy can be optimized.DDM enables the drive power to be transmitted directly without going through worm gears. Vibration and heat generation are thus reduced, and there is no backlash, making it suitable for high-speed rotation.BMT is particularly important for turn mill centers. As the motor is placed inside the turret, there are no gears and cutting tool pockets, so it becomes more compact and vibration and heat generation are reduced.As for ORC (Octagonal Ram Construction), it features a revolutionary feed structure with an octagonal shaped ram. The symmetrical structure minimizes thermal displacement, ensuring high precision.CMJ: Could you give us some applications of your machines, for example, in the construction machinery or automotive industry?Mr Xu: Customers often have high requirements in cycle time and process integration. Once a customer asked us for suggestions on processing a workpiece with Dia0.35 holes and inclined holes. The customer also requested fully automatic loading and unloading of materials.For this case, we recommended our NZ2000T2Y Twin Spindle, Twin Turret Turning Center. It satisfied the requirements of the customer, who placed an order for 14 units in one go. Now the customer is planning for a second order for about 30 units.The NZ series is particularly well-received in Northern China. It is very suitable for mass production in the automotive, hydraulics, electric appliances, medical and other industries.http://www.adsalecmj.com/Publicity/Interview/lang-eng/article-463/Article.aspxBeckhoff Automation GmbH is a medium-sized, internationally acting company located in Verl, Westphalia, Germany. Beckhoff implements open automation systems based on PC Control technology. The product range covers industrial PCs, I/O and fieldbus components, drive technology and automation software. At this year's Industrial Automation Show (IAS) held during November 1-5 in Shanghai, Beckhoff showcased, among others, its new TwinCAT 3 software generation, new EL7201 servo terminal and CU8890 WLAN controller, on its largest ever booth at the show. CMJ talked to Wang Youqing, Application Manager of Beckhoff Automation (Shanghai) Co Ltd, to learn more about the ideas behind the company's "Scientific Automation" concept.CMJ: Mr Wang, could you please briefly tell us Beckhoff's participation at the show?Mr Wang: IAS 2011 is very important for Beckhoff. We have the biggest booth that we have ever had at the show, which is more than 200sq m in size. And we are showing a lot of our new products here, including hardware products like EL7201, the servo terminal for the Beckhoff EtherCAT Terminal system, and software products like TwinCAT 3, the new software generation. As you can see, our booth takes a double-deck design, providing a better space for our customers to communicate with us. We try to provide the show visitors a comprehensive showcase of Beckhoff's advanced PC- and EtherCAT-based control technology, including the latest industrial PCs, embedded PCs, I/O and fieldbus components, the TwinCAT automation software, which is very powerful, as well as our new motion control and industrial solutions.CMJ: What are the highlights of these products?Mr Wang: Among the many new products that we are showcasing here, I would like to specially introduce the TwinCAT 3 - the new software generation. In TwinCAT 3, Beckhoff introduces the newest software generation for PC-based control technology that will expand the world of automation with many powerful new functions. It is more open, flexible, easily extendable and, using multi-core CPUs, faster than current PC-based controllers. In accordance with the all-in-one automation concept, TwinCAT 3 includes all major programming languages from the automation and IT world, which significantly simplifies software engineering. TwinCAT 3 software will be the major software platform that Beckhoff will promote in the following 10 years. In addition to the object-orientated IEC 61131-3 extensions, the programming languages of the IT world are available via C and C++.In addition, I would also like to introduce our EL7201 ultra-compact I/O terminal for servo motor control. It integrates a complete servo drive for motors up to 200W into a standard 12mm I/O terminal housing. With the EL7201 servo terminal, the range of servo drives from Beckhoff becomes even more finely scalable: from the miniature servo drive up to 200W in the EtherCAT Terminal format to the AX5000 Servo Drive with 118kW. Beckhoff offers a wide range of motion control solutions.CMJ: Beckhoff is promoting the concept of "Scientific Automation" at the show. Would you tell us more about it?Mr Wang: Scientific Automation is the integration of automation software with findings from engineering science which go beyond the limits of conventional control.Scientific Automation not only echoes the country's call for scientific innovation and advanced manufacturing, but also is a response to the industry's needs. It comprises five pillar technologies: high-performance industrial PCs, real-time control Runtime, the fast EtherCAT bus system, fast I/Os for data acquisition, and the XFC technology (eXtreme Fast Control Technology). Based on this, we have launched a number of "Scientific Automation" solutions. Beckhoff supplies not only products, but also complete solutions for simulating devices, robots, data systems and advanced manufacturing.CMJ: What benefits can Scientific Automation offer to customers?Mr Wang: Customers, particularly engineers and technicians, face a lot of technical bottlenecks at their daily work, and Scientific Automation is the advanced automation technology that they have been longing for. The main benefits of developing related equipment based on the Scientific Automation concepts are: significant increase in performance (higher speeds, higher precision and more versatile functions), and cost savings (in hardware, research and development time, maintenance costs, etc). With Beckhoff's innovative products and solutions developed under Scientific Automation, customers can genuinely use "one controller (IPC), one network (EtherCAT) and one automation software (TwinCAT)" to implement full control of their equipment and production lines.As the Scientific Automation concept gets more widespread, we are confident that it will become popular among customers. Of course there will be difficulties. For example, some customers are more used to existing systems, and it is difficult for customers to get over the challenge to turn to use open PC-based control systems. Customers also need to spend money when they change to use our systems. In certain specialized application areas, we have to develop more tailor-made solutions and special software modules. This is a challenge for our technicians as they need to understand these industries more in-depth. Nevertheless, Beckhoff sees this as an upcoming trend and we have invested a great deal of resources to develop more solutions for more industries.http://www.adsalecmj.com/Publicity/Interview/lang-eng/article-453/Article.aspxFollowing the advancements in mechanical manufacturing techniques, machine tools are developing towards high speed, high precision, combined manufacturing, high intelligence and environmental friendliness. This trend is posting stricter and stricter requirements on lubrication technology. Li Maosheng, a professor level senior engineer at the Lubrication Research Institute under Guangzhou Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (GMERI), shared his insights with CMJ in a recent interview.CMJ: Could you please briefly tell us the kinds of lubricants used in a machine tool?Mr Li: At present the kinds of lubricant products used in machine tools include hydraulic oils, gear oils (worm gear oils), anti-rust oils, spindle oils, slideway oils and metalworking fluids.Hydraulic oils offer good lubrication, high anti-oxidation, low foaming and fast air release properties. They guarantee that the hydraulic systems work steadily and reliably. They also help reduce wear, hence improving the working life of the hydraulic system.Industrial gear oils should possess the right viscosity so that they form layers of fluid dynamic films and elastic fluid dynamic films at light loads. They also have to offer a right degree of compressive lubrication so that layers of boundary lubrication films are formed at high loads.In a machine tool, the spindles are bearings are the parts that come with the highest precision. That's why they have very stringent requirements on lubricants. Spindle oils have to possess the right viscosity and a good viscosity temperature property. They should also provide good anti-oxidation, lubrication, anti-rust and low foaming properties, plus a certain degree of wear-resistance.CMJ: What's your opinion on the development of metalworking fluids in China?Mr Li: At present China produces and uses more than one-third of machine tools worldwide. Both are number one in the world. So the consumption of metalworking fluids is constantly increasing. Water-based metalworking fluids are particularly widespread, with their consumption rising at around 15% every year. At the same time, the discharge of used fluids has become an urgent issue in the country. According to incomplete statistics, China's machinery industry alone is disposing of over 200 million tons of used cutting fluids every day.CMJ: To which direction are lubricant products being developed?Mr Li: Machine tools are being developed to save energy and reduce emissions and achieve green manufacturing. At present, we at Guangzhou Mechanical Engineering Research Institute are developing eco-friendly lubricants, including water-based nano copper, nano silicon dioxide, and other functional materials that provide good lubrication, cooling, anti-bacterial and renewable properties. We have also started in-depth studies on the dispersion stability, lubrication, thermal conductivity, cooling and anti-bacterial properties of additives and the cutting fluids formulated with these additives. It is to study the working mechanism of these additives and cutting fluids and provide reasonable explanations and patterns. We hope these studies will help to show possible directions for the research, application and formulation of water-based cutting fluids.http://www.adsalecmj.com/Publicity/Interview/lang-eng/article-440/Article.aspxEstablished in 2003, Ryosho Machinery (Shanghai) Co Ltd is the sole distributor of Kitamura branded machining centers and Nakamura-tome branded multi-tasking machines in China. Marking a new stage in the company's development, the Shanghai headquartered company established a new showroom in Guangzhou, whose opening ceremony on September 16 was attended by more than 100 people in the industry. On this occasion, Luo Xiaolin, head of Ryosho's high precision machine tool department, shared his views on China's machine tool industry with CMJ.CMJ: A common production model for companies in China's machine building industry, especially those small-and-medium companies, to use general-purpose machine tools, plus special technology machines. What's worse, most of the machine tools that they are using are of poor performance and have been used for a long time. In what ways can Ryosho help these companies?Mr Luo: Consumers always look for products of higher values, so it is essential for companies to equip themselves with manufacturing technology that offers high productivity and high quality. The production model of having one operator to run one machine with one cutting tool is suitable for mass production. However, it relies heavily on the operators and the skill levels they possess. It also requires a large floor space to accommodate the machines and the semi-finished products. There are also difficulties to be used to machine workpieces that require high positioning precision and complicated procedures. To manage precision, special clamping tools may be used. For the production of small batches of a variety of different products, it will take much time for machine setup and adjustment.It is a development trend for modern machining companies to use machines that integrate functions of several machining centers on one machine. With such a multi-tasking machining strategy, a reasonable arrangement of machining techniques can be ensured, and human operation can be minimized. In addition, it helps solve labor shortage problems.Now it is a good time for China to upgrade its machining equipment in order to catch up the international standards in machining technology. As the sole distributor of Kitamura branded machining centers and Nakamura-tome branded multi-tasking machines, Ryosho Machinery (Shanghai) Co Ltd is customer-oriented, striving to introduce advanced machining technology to China. We serve as a win-win platform by supplying not only machine tools but also machining solutions.CMJ: What is the most important for China to transform itself from a large manufacturing country into a strong one in terms of both manufacturing and innovation?Mr Luo: In my personal point of view, I think "management" is the most important. A good brand not only offers good quality machines but also provides technical support and excellent after-sales service as added values. Each of the brands we distribute only has only one production base, which is in Japan. They do not adopt a mass production model, but limit the number of machines they produce to ensure complete quality management. Our sales colleagues constantly feed customers' requests and recommendations to us. In this way, we join hands with customers to improve hardware and software functions. At Ryosho, customers' benefits always come first as our ultimate goal is to achieve mutually beneficial.http://www.adsalecmj.com/Publicity/Interview/lang-eng/article-432/Article.aspxBased in Suzhou in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, the privately run TZTEK Precision Co Ltd is a technology leader in the video metrology industry in China. Recently it has launched three new products, including a bridge Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM). CMJ talked to TZTEK Sales Director Zhang Bin to find out more.CMJ: Could you briefly introduce the three new products of TZTEK to us?Mr Zhang: Definitely. This time we are launching three new products, including a bridge CMM, a high-performance automatic video measuring machine, and a manual video measuring machine. The CMM boasts high stability, high precision and excellent human-machine interaction. The high-performance automatic video measuring machine offers an average speed of 800mm/s and a zoom transition time of 0.45s from the widest to the furthest, and the focusing speed can be as fast as 2s. The manual video measuring machine is for economical use. Its main features include automatic lifting and lowering of the Z axis, automatic focus and automatic edge detection.CMJ: What drove TZTEK to launch CMMs? Does it mean that TZTEK will participate in this field?Mr Zhang: Talking about CMMs, there are not many high-end products that are made in China and TZTEK's bridge CMM is filling up this gap. Now the Chinese manufacturing industry is moving from low-end, extensive development to high-end, high-quality development. We foresee that this transformation will become extremely fast in the coming decade, so there will be increasing demand for high-end CMMs. In face of such enormous market demand, we have been expected by many fellow companies in the industry, our distributors and partners to launch CMMs. That's basically the reasons why TZTEK is making a foothold in the CMM market.CMJ: TZTEK's video measuring machines have been widely used and won credit in a number of industries. What are the reasons behind such success?Mr Zhang: From the very beginning, TZTEK always targets to become the technology leader in China's metrology industry. We hope to help China's precision manufacturing industry improve its quality, hence changing people's perception that "Made in China" products are only low-end products. It is our investment, devotion and insistence that have made TZTEK successful.CMJ: Could you elaborate on this?Mr Zhang: Ever since our establishment, we have placed strong emphasis on R&D as well as product quality. We also insist on the development of high technology, aiming to come up with innovative products and technology that can help manufacturing companies enhance their measuring capabilities. At present 40% of our staff are working on technology R&D, and they have a strong passion for technology and products. Because we are willing to concentrate on R&D, we are able to stay at the forefront of China's video metrology industry. We continuously launch new products and this also earns us great recognition from customers.CMJ: Servicing is a buzzword in the industry. What does TZTEK do in this respect?Mr Zhang: We do not supply products and technology only. More importantly, we are offering measuring solutions as well as free-of-charge follow-up inspection and consultancy services. It is also our target and responsibility to help our customers choose the right machine and use them correctly. So we have a technical support department to help our customers tackle the problems they face in using our measuring machines. In addition, we offer customization services to satisfy different customers' specific requirements. All in all, we try to provide all kinds of value-added services for our customers.http://www.adsalecmj.com/Publicity/Interview/lang-eng/article-425/Article.aspxEarlier this month, UK CADCAM software developer Delcam held its annual Asian Technical Summit in Zhuhai, China as part of the celebrations of the 15th anniversary of the founding of its Delcam China subsidiary. CMJ was invited to join this event and had an interview with Delcam CEO Clive Martell.CMJ: Are you satisfied with Delcam China's development so far?Mr Martell: Like all new adventures, it takes a little time to get started and gain momentum, but now our presence in China is building well. We’ve built a lot of the sales partners. We’ve been establishing very good reputation in the commercial sectors and academic sectors we’re working in. I’m very happy with the current pace and our plan is to continue to grow at the current rate.CMJ: Delcam started to purchase offices in China, first in Beijing and then in Chengdu. What’re the reasons behind this move, particularly buying the Chengdu office?Mr Martell: It seems sensible to us since we’re building our teams here so we have to increase our stability. We also see appreciation at the value of these offices. We’re building larger teams, so we will be looking to buy more offices in future.We have offices in different parts of China and we’re aware our customer base was growing in the central area. So we wanted to expand our presence in Chengdu and looked to have a bigger office there. While we were moving our office we thought it was a good time to buy the new office there. I visited it earlier in the year, just before we moved into the office building. We are pleased to be in our new home.CMJ: Have you set any new target for Delcam China, led by General Manager Mr Joe Zhou?Mr Martell: We are looking to grow by 20% within our China business, including the business in Hong Kong as well.CMJ: Do you see any challenges in achieving that 20% growth?Mr Martell: There are always challenges. We have a situation where the world economy is going, potentially, into another uncertain period although, at the moment, it is not affecting our business. I hope we will continue to see steady growth.Also, it is necessary that we continue to find good people to recruit into Delcam China in order that we can grow our team and expand our presence in China. So I think there will be two key challenges.CMJ: Can you talk a little bit more of the global economic situation, although the effect may not be that apparent at the moment?Mr Martell: Obviously we'll have a period of uncertainty because of the budget deficit in the US and the rebalancing at the euro-zone economy. Both events need to be managed carefully by the European and the American governments in order to ensure we do not have a short-term crisis in confidence.CMJ: Do you think it will be another financial turmoil like those happening in 2008?Mr Martell: No, I hope sensible providence will find sensible answers to move us forward in this stage and it will be decided not on political grounds but on sensible economic grounds for decisions to be made.CMJ: You mentioned that one of the challenges is recruiting good people. But in a way, your software is helping manufacturers solve the problem of shortage of skilled workers.Mr Martell: It is a tool that helps them to do that. But it is very important that they have people using our software who understand the mold manufacturing process in detail. Those people need extensive training of their skills in order to gain the knowledge and background to be able to use our software sensibly. One of the ways in which we’re helping is by working with Chinese educational establishments in order to raise the knowledge of our software. We found sponsoring the NC competition has been a very effective way of doing that. Equally our customers find it necessary to give detailed training themselves to new recruits in order to bring them to the standard they need. I hope that by making more students more aware of our software when they attend university that they would have a good start when they arrive at the workplace and they can learn the specialism to do with that type of molds that they manufacture.CMJ: When did Delcam China start cooperation with those educational institutes?Mr Martell: We have educational customers for a number of years and we started to be a sponsor for the NC competition two years ago.CMJ: Apart from China, what observations do you have on other markets, for example, India, Southeast Asia and even South America?Mr Martell: As labor costs have increased in the West, manufacturing is being redistributed to other countries. We are saying not only growth in China but also strong growth in India. We are also saying that a lot of the high-tech manufacturing in Korea is driving a lot of our business as well. Countries like Indonesia are also growing because of their automotive manufacturing and shoe making activities. Also in South America, Brazil is becoming more important as a manufacturing economy.CMJ: Delcam keeps improving its software technically. In your opinion, what will be the directions of those technical developments in future?Mr Martell: We have three main inputs into our future development directions. One is the feedback that our customers provide. One is the joint research projects that we carry out with other companies, particularly those within the European market. And the third one is the inspirations that our staff have on how they can develop new functionalities. All of those are very important for us in deciding how we move our products forward.Higher efficiency and higher user-friendliness are always what our customers want. What our customers would really like is the one button push which creates toolpath for their products, or they can design their products in a single button push. Obviously life is not that simple but we do everything we can in order to make our functionality more automated and more powerful and easier to learn and use as well.CMJ: The industry is looking for more and more advanced manufacturing technology. What do you see the role of CADCAM software in this aspect?Mr Martell: It is an essential part of manufacturing these days because people are producing components which need to be manufactured to very tight tolerances. They need to be manufactured with the minimum possible material involved and in the most efficient way. And to do that, it is necessary to have 3D design models to apply analysis to them in order to go through these processes. So you couldn’t make products of the quality and consistency that you see today without CADCAM processes being involved.http://www.adsalecmj.com/Publicity/Interview/lang-eng/article-423/Article.aspxSince 1962, Taiwan's SEYI (Shieh Yih Machinery Industry Co Ltd) has established itself as one of the world's leading manufacturers of mechanical presses. Headquartered in a 12,500sq m facility in Taoyuan, Taiwan, SEYI began production in China in 2003, at an 11,000sq m facility in Kunshan, Jiangsu province. In addition, the company has built a second facility in Kunshan, which will add an additional capacity of 300 presses to its existing capacity of 4,000 presses per year. Following this, the company has set the target of making itself one of the top five metal forming machine manufacturers in the world, Claire Kuo, Chairman and CEO of SEYI, and Dr Hsu Jinhuang, Project Director of SEYI, told CMJ in an interview during MetalForm China 2011.CMJ: As far as I know, this is the first time that SEYI exhibited in MetalForm China. What're the highlights of your exhibits?SEYI: We brought two straight side presses under the SN series. They are our bestsellers and most of them are used in the electronics and home appliances industries. As you can see, both of them are four-column straight side presses. The symmetrical front-rear column structure design minimizes deflection and is most suitable for precision progressive die applications. It is very quiet during operation and does not pollute the environment. It is equipped with an electric control system, so it is safer and user-friendlier. Furthermore, it is highly efficiency because unloading, piercing, bending and forming can also be completed in a single machine. We believe it is of great interest to those genuine buyers.CMJ: Why did you choose to participate in this exhibition?SEYI: China is a rapidly growing market. It has huge potential and companies from Europe, America and Japan are coming to invest in building factories in China to have a foothold in the market. We want to participate professional trade shows to understand more about the customers in China. Of course we also want to strengthen our corporate promotion through these exhibition, so that we will have a good foundation to expand our business and compete in the market.CMJ: How much does your business in China contribute to the whole SEYI group?SEYI: Our development in the China market is developing very well and our business in China account for 60% of the whole group. Our customers in China mainly come from the home appliances and consumer electronics industries. Next, we will focus on the automotive industry. The China market is of great importance to us and we will continue to explore it.CMJ: What plans do you have regarding your development in the China market?SEYI: First of all, the second phase of our Kunshan site has basically been completed and we expect mass production can start from the middle of next year. At present our Kunshan facility primarily produces 25-4,000 tons presses for the China market. Secondly, as we will place greater emphasis on the automotive industry in China, we will put in more efforts in this sector. We have been working with Soueast Motor [note: a joint venture between Mitsubishi Motors from Japan, Fujian Motor Industry Group from China, and China Motor Corporation from Taiwan], and our products have been recognized by a lot many customers in the automotive industry. Our technology is comparable with the Japanese, but the prices of our machines are much more competitive than those of foreign products. We will continue our efforts to provide more high quality products that also offer great value for money. In addition, our service team is expanding. If the market situation allows, we will also set up offices in Central and West China so that we can provide even better services to our customers.CMJ: SEYI has announced the target of making itself one of the top five metal forming machine manufacturers in China. Could you please tell us more about this?SEYI: We set this target according to SEYI's quality and technology levels. We have already successfully developed our own servo presses. They will be the trend in future. Our servo presses are comparable with those Japanese-made machines in terms of quality, but our prices are much lower. And the completion of our second facility in Kunshan will benefit our operations largely. Riding on these advantages, we see a good chance for SEKI to be among the world’s top five metal forming machine manufacturers.CMJ: How did SEYI perform in the first half of the year? What do you expect for the whole year?SEYI: In the first six months, SEYI's net sales reached NT$2.06 billion (approximately US$71.12 million), representing a 38% increase over net sales of NT$1.49 billion (approximately US$51.50 million) recorded in the same period last year. During the first six months, SEYI's operating income was NT$141.03 million (approximately US$4.87 million), an increased of 93% over operating income of NT$73.18 million (approximately US$2.53 million) earned in the same period last year. For the whole year 2011, we see chances of making NT$5 billion (approximately US$167.18 million) revenues, representing a growth of over 50%.http://www.adsalecmj.com/Publicity/Interview/lang-eng/article-420/Article.aspxOn August 8, Bystronic, a supplier of high-quality solutions for the economical processing of sheet metal and other sheet materials, held a foundation laying ceremony for its new production site in Tianjin, China. On this occasion, CMJ talked to Henry Hou and Bob Wang, Managing Directors of Bystronic (Tianjin) Machinery Co Ltd and Bystronic Co Ltd (Shanghai) respectively, to learn more about the new factory as well as the company's latest development.CMJ: What drove Bystronic to build a new production site in Tianjin?Bystronic: Bystronic built its first China factory in Tianjin as early as in 1993. Over the 18 years, we have established a stable and outstanding workforce here and it has been playing a critical role in our success in China. Because of this, we chose to build a new factory in Tianjin as a new chapter of our development in China.Also, Tianjin Binhai New Area is the third economic engine to be developed by the Chinese government, with a state-of-the-art port and airport as well as roads and railways for convenient transportation. Furthermore, Tianjin city possesses a deep industrial foundation with strong auxiliary industry capabilities and a good pool of talented people, not to mention that the equipment industry is a key development focus of the city's municipal government. All in all, the Binhai New Area provides Bystronic with a good environment for development as well as excellent policy support.CMJ: What is the market positioning of the new Tianjin plant? What products will it produce? How will it contribute to the company?Bystronic: The main responsibility of the new Tianjin plant is to research, develop and manufacture laser cutting machines. Laser cutting machines are the core product of Bystronic and they are having the fastest growth in the market. Such a prosperous demand is driving us to double our production capacity in few years' time. The key customers of Bystronic Tianjin are from China. So we hope that our new factory in Tianjin will enable us to get even closer to our customers and bring them high-performance products that also offer great value for money. Our factories in the Swiss headquarters and in Germany mainly produce high-end products. They are imported to China to satisfy the requirements of the high-end customers in China. We believe that the new Tianjin factory will be beneficial to Bystronic, enabling us to maintain our leading position among multi-national brands. Customers will also be benefited with a greater offering of products.CMJ: What does the new Tianjin factory mean to Bystronic strategically?Bystronic: As the third factory outside Switzerland, Tianjin is likely to become the largest production base of Bystronic. It is significant to the globalization of the group.CMJ: How does Bystronic fulfill the increasing demand that the industry has on processing composite materials and hard-to-process materials? What are the greatest challenges for the metal processing industry in the next five to 10 years?Bystronic: As always we focus on products for two-dimensional cutting and bending. We offer complete two-dimensional cutting solutions for use in the sheet metal industry and other application areas. Our carbon dioxide laser cutters and optic fiber laser cutters are applicable to all kinds of metal materials, while our high-pressure waterjets can be used to process composite and non-metallic materials. Bystronic cooperates with the world's top research institutes to learn what is required in different application areas and develop highly productive processes at the right time.For the metal processing industry, the main technical challenges will be in the aspects of processing efficiency, precision, automation and flexibility. With regard to corporate operations, challenges are about how companies would merge together for strategic reasons. It is inevitable when there are excessive manufacturers producing products of similar functions.CMJ: What development plans does Bystronic have for the future? How do you further increase your market share?Bystronic: As a company that emphasizes product development, Bystronic has a research team that accounts for one-tenth of employees worldwide. We will continue our workforce localization efforts. We will be driven by market demand to develop products that fulfill customers' needs. We will strengthen our pre-sale and after-sale services and training and riding on them, we will be able to occupy a greater share in the market. We have been working hard to improve our service standards so that our customers can make full use of Bystronic's advanced technology in their applications. After all, service itself is a kind of product.http://www.adsalecmj.com/Publicity/Interview/lang-eng/article-410/Article.aspx