ASEAN's top expo delivers smart manufacturing solutions

Southeast Asia’s biggest industrial exhibition, Manufacturing Expo, which incorporates InterPlas Thailand, gathered 95,668 visitors from many sectors. Optimism was high and many plastics industry players took centre stage in providing the latest manufacturing trends. In particular, this year took a major leap as Thai industries welcome the future where intelligent production systems would become indispensable.  

 

At the opening ceremony of the Manufacturing Expo, Mr. Suttisak Wilanan, Deputy Managing Director of Reed Tradex, mentioned that the role of the whole exhibition complements the Thai government’s efforts in driving the 10 target industries towards a successful future. The target industries include advanced automotive industry, intelligent electronics, robotics, and digital industries, all of which will benefit from Manufacturing Expo. The expo consists of 5 international events serving specific sectors; i.e. InterPlas Thailand for plastics and packaging manufacturing; InterMold Thailand for mould making; Automotive Manufacturing for automotive parts manufacturing, Assembly and Automation Technology showcasing robots and industrial automation; and Surface and Coatings for industrial parts. The events are co-located by NEPCON Thailand for electronics manufacturing and Mfair, a matchmaking platforms for Japanese and Asian parts manufacturers and buyers.

 

 

A major highlight was the holding of the  “Automotive Summit 2019,” an annual conference for automotive parts manufacturers, organised to support the government’s New S-Curve industries; namely auto parts, electronics parts, robotics, aerospace, medical devices, and food (packaging) in their journey towards Industry 4.0.  Dr. Pasu Loharjun, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Industry, gave a keynote speech on “Smart Mobility Driving Tomorrow’s Society.” Mr. Adisak Rohitasune, Member of the Board of Directors and Acting President of Thailand Automotive Institute revealed that the automotive industry is going through a period of change from the combustion engine to the hybrid and electric engine.  Thai entrepreneurs are adapting their machinery and technology to support the coming demand, which is a good sign.  Import data shows that import of machinery and parts in the first quarter of this year is valued at 182,000 million baht, a 5%  growth over the same period of last year.  Moreover, electric vehicle is one of the 10 S-Curve industries which the government is driving growth for.  

 

Exhibitors’ Feedback

As a one-stop shop for serial production of strong, light and beautiful composite products, Cobra International Co., Ltd. (www.cobra-advanced-composites.com) has carved its own niche in a market where lightweighting solutions have become an integral part of customers' requirements.  A first-time exhibitor, Cobra's prominent booth highlighted the company's achievements in developing new products, catering to markets like watersports, marine, automotive, motorcycle, aviation, architecture, construction and luxury goods. According to Mathias Woehrle, Business Development Manager of Cobra Advanced Composites Co., Ltd., "Cobra has been known for innovating in the area of lightweighting and designing as well as creating composite parts for a number of major automotive companies. As composite is stronger than steel and lightweight, this material has become highly in demand for some applications where strength and light weight are required." 

 

Mr. Mathias Woehrle, Business Development Manager, Cobra Advanced Composites Co., Ltd.

 

As Mr. Woehrle explained, "Cobra was established in 1978 and the production plant is located in Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate in Thailand. It exploys over 2,300 employees. The facility is certified by ISO 9001:2015 and ISO?TS 16949:2009, thus attesting to the high standards in terms of operational efficiency and product quality."   A Design and Development Center was established in 2015 to provide the group with expertise ranging from product design, industrial design, engineering, testing, prototyping, process design to production launch and technical support.  

 

Easy to operate, reliable, affordable, more productive rapid prototyping and manufacturing than ever before are some of the special features that make the F123 Series by Stratasys a market favorite, according to Narakorn Kusakul, Business Representative for the 3D Printing & 3D Scanner Solutions of AppliCAD (www.applicadthai.com/3d-printer). AppliCAD is the agent of Stratasys in Thailand and represented the company at InterPlas Thailand 2019.

 

As the Mr. Kusakul stressed, this Stratasys model is known for its speed and productivity; and gives designers, engineers and educators access to affordable, industrial-grade 3D printing. The machine works faster to enable users to reach their goals sooner and with repeatable results. "We have many customers in Thailand who prefer the Stratasys 3D printers and these customers are engaged in various sectors, including plastics manufacturing and automotive," Mr. Kusakul added. 

 

Teerasate Charoenpoonsiri, General Manager of GD Propack (https://gd.co.th/en/), talked about the products and services that the company presented at the exhibition. GD Propack is a leading company engaged in such services as heat transfer printing and in-mould labelling for the packaging sector. Aside from Thailand, it offers its services to customers in the Asian region. The company has decades of experience in providing services to manufacturers of industrial and engineering products, creative product design, promotional products, and consumer products. Its ongoing development and partnership leads to the provision of labeling for packaging ie. IML and heat transfer.  

 

With its experience on plastic injection technology and later on in IML and heat transfer labels, GD Propack can assist customers in all the steps in the technical process that would meet specific requirements. Its services include: technical plastic consultant service; CAD/CAM translation; CNC plastic injection; plastic injection; screening, pad print and heat transfer; and other services. 

 

Mr.  Teerasate Charoenpoonsiri, General Manager, GD Propack

 

Since its establishment in January 1997, Misumi in Thailand has been engaged in providing high-quality components for various requirements. Currently, more than 10,000 companies in Thailand have registered with Misumi and over 3,500 companies place orders with the company every month, according to its catalog.  For the plastics industry, Misumi is a leading manufacturer and distributor of standard components for factory automation, press die and plastic mould, along with various components for industrial equipment.  Taishi Maehara, Senior Manager of the Mold and Injection Division of Misumi (Thailand) Co., Ltd (http://th.misumi-ec.com), , showed the company's vast range of components for various industrial requirements. "We have a full range of components for different industrial requirements, and we are able to serve the growing needs of Thai industries and even Southeast Asia as well through our network of sales offices and factories located worldwide." 

 

To date, Misumi operates 23 factories around the world. It also maintains 63 sales offices and 16 logistics sites that are scattered in different locations. "These Misumi offices and plants are aimed at serving diverse market requirements wherever the customers may be. Quick response is our strength," Mr. Maehara explained. 

 

For more than 40 years, Fu Chun Shin Machinery Manufacture Co., Ltd. (FCS)  has been involved in technological developments as it aims to offer additional features to its portfolio of servo hydraulic injection moulding machines. At this year's InterPlas Thailand, Benjamin Lee, Vice General Manager of FCS, discussed the launch of the latest model in the company's FA Series to the Thai market.  The FA Series has been designed to deliver unmatched efficiency with its energy-saving servo hydraulic toggle system. "At InterPlas Thailand, FCS brings for the first time this new generation machine, which was based on our former model. The new generation FA 200 is a product of four years of development where FCS poured resources, research and development efforts to upgrade the FA Series to bring more features that will benefit the customers," Mr. Lee explained.

 

Mr. Benjamin Lee, Vice General Manager, FCS

 

The new generation model features clamp and injection unit specifications that have been upgraded to allow FCS customers the flexibility in the range of molds they can run in the machine. "This machine is packed with more power and enables energy savings while giving the opeartor more control, and these are only some of the best features the new generation model has," Mr. Lee added. The outside appearance of the machine was developed with friendly ergonomics to make working in and around the machine easy, comfortable and safe for the operator. The KEBA control now offers an enhanced capability to integrate the FCS IMF 4.0 system to assist in turning the customer's plant into a smart injection molding operation. Overall, these enhancements to the FA series will help FCS customers increase their competitiveness in the industry and boost their capability to meet the technological trends. 

 

Maag, a Dover company, was present at the exhibition to promote its various products and services. According to Nitiruth Woraprasitthipong, Regional Sales Manager of Gala Industries Asia Ltd. (www.maag.com), the Group offers a range of pump and filtration systems, as well as pelletisers.  “Gala Industries is now part of Maag and so we also promoted Gala products, especially the underwater pelletiser at this event. In Thailand, as well as other countries in Asia, we have many customers for the Gala strand pelletiser and underwater pelletiser,” according to Mr. Woraprasitthipong. Even while Maag’s products are imported, Maag Thailand now has a team of sales and services personnel serving Thailand and the rest of Asia.  

 

Maag today is formed by five successful and well experienced companies with expertise and experience in the plastics and rubber industries – Maag Pump Systems, Automatik Plastics Machinery, Gala Industries, Reduction Engineering Scheer and Ettlinger. 

 

Mr. Nitiruth Woraprasitthipong, Regional Sales Manager, Gala Industries Asia Ltd.

 

The producer of Wellion plastic additives for the enhancement of the plastic products like food container or food packaging to store foods was present at InterPlas Thailand, Macsumsuk GM Co., Ltd (www.macsumsuk.com) and represented by its COO Park Ki Gun. Mr Park stressed that the importance of its additive in ensuring food freshness even when stored. “Our plastic additive is very special and new in this market – but its flexibility indicates that it can be applied in the production of baby bottles, bottles for food and beverage, and other types of containers.”  

 

The Wellion Bio-Masterbatch promoted at the exhibition supports PE, PP, Tritan, and PPSU – and the company can supply masterbatch for other types of resins. This Korean-based company has been operating for the past 33 years and now exports to other countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh, China, etc.  

 

Mr, Park Ki Gun, COO, Macsumsuk GM Co., Ltd