Sumitomo (SHI) Demag announces second phase of its expansion plan

Injection molding machine maker Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery North America Inc. has announced the second phase of its 2019 expansion plan in support of the injection molding market.

Phase two of the plan – which includes the addition of a new facility and technical center in the Chicago area and a new training and demonstration center in Anaheim, Calif. – follows the February 2019 phase one move to a new, 74,500-square-foot facility and tech center in the Atlanta area, almost triple the size of the facility in Norcross, Ga. that it replaced.

To expand its presence and customer support capabilities in the Midwest, a 15,300-square-foot facility has opened in Buffalo Grove, Ill., outside of Chicago. The facility includes a training room; offices for sales, service and processing support; and an 8,000-square-foot technical center.

“The tech center offers a wide range of opportunities for customers and provides additional support for collaboration with our partners and their customers,” John F. Martich III, executive vice president and COO of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s U.S. operations, said in a statement. “The location is within driving distance for a large number of molders in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota, and is 20 minutes from O’Hare International Airport, providing easy airport access for customers who want to fly in.”

The center is equipped with SEEV-A and SEEV-A HD all-electric machines and partners’ auxiliary equipment. It will be used for machine demos, mold tests, hands-on training, and other processing and application support and development activities. Machine training classes are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2020, and an open house is being planned for a future date.

The new Buffalo Grove tech center is currently equipped with three SEEV-A platform all-electric machines.

Sumitomo (SHI) Demag also announced that it has partnered with QTM Inc., a thermoplastics distributor located in Anaheim, Calif., to open a new training and demo center. The facility includes a meeting room, offices and demo center equipped with an SE100EV-A all-electric machine and auxiliary equipment.

“We’re very pleased to have this new facility at QTM in California, enabling material and machine demos for our customers as well as hands-on machine training,” Martich said. “Our SEEV-A all-electric platform spans 14 model sizes now, for parts from a fractional gram to 75-ounce shot sizes. So while there is only one machine in this facility, a molder can see a demo of the SE100EV-A and get a good idea of the high-speed performance, controls, Z-molding capabilities and Sumitomo’s advanced motor technology that can be found across the entire platform. Our other West Coast partners also will be able to use this facility for applications development without traveling cross country.”