Archive for the 'Chinaplas' Category

Chinaplas 2012 – infrared heating quality like never before

May 10, 2012 by Cathal Wilson

Now that the dust has settled it seems as good a time as any to unpack a few thoughts from the Ceramicx exhibition experiences at Chinaplas 2012 exhibition at the end of last month.

For sheer volume of visitors and for human traffic the Chinaplas show is a coming force. Ceramicx has re-affirmed its presence at Chinaplas in its Guangzhou location next year and all expect this year’s footfall of 110,000 to be exceeded. The show – and the Chinese plastics industry – will continue to grow.


All in all Ceramicx had an excellent first exhibition. We were looked after well in Hall W1 as an independent supplier by our Chinese agents and distributor. In addition to Chinese business we also made several important connections with plastics industries in Indonesia, India and the Philippines. As Chinaplas grows so will the involvement of countries outside Chinese borders.

95% of success, they say, comes from just showing up. It was a very good move indeed to make ourselves present for Ceramicx at the show, front and centre. We were able to show our first hand product knowledge and able also to walk our Chinese visitors through all the IR technical ins and outs. Nothing beats showing up.

In some ways Chinese industry has now become the most demanding and quality conscious in the world. At Chinaplas 2012 we confirmed for ourselves that the Chinese market has a huge and growing appetite for applications engineering and for knowledge on how our infrared heat emitters can be applied and used to better effect across a multitude of processes.

To date ceramic-based IR emitters have been the stable diet in China.  Ceramicx is now fielding a growing interest in Quartz and Quartz Halogen/Tungsten IR technology and how the different sources of infrared are suitable for different applications.

All in all the Ceramicx Chinaplas experience and our follow through was well worth the learning curve and the time taken. We shall be back again next year with many further improvements and innovations.

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Back to the shop floor

April 17, 2012 by Patrick Wilson

Right now Frank and Cathal Wilson will hopefully be assembling all the pieces of the Ceramicx booth in readiness for the Chinaplas show, which opens in Shanghai tomorrow.

It hardly seems possible that as soon as one large exhibition is processed by Ceramicx another is opening for business on the other side of the world. Here in Ireland I’m still adjusting back from the change in Florida time and from the ebb of some of the enquiries and order processing received at America’s biggest and best plastics exhibition, NPE, April 1-5.

NPE 2012 was a huge learning curve for me. Not only did I have to leave my production manager role behind for a whole week – trusting that all would be well! – it was then in at the deep end in terms of the dynamism at the show; the large variety of enquiries, interest and visitors of all shapes and sizes.

Sure enough, my Spanish and Portuguese language skills came in handy with visitors from Columbia, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, and other parts of South and Central America. There is no doubt that the manufacturing industry is expanding greatly in those parts of the world – and plastics technologies with it. It’s a territory that we shall be cultivating and returning to in the coming months and years. Among the things brought back in the suitcase were several months worth of South American leads, opportunities and new relationships to be cultivated over the short and medium term.

In truth, the NPE show also taught me that most nearly every customer, large and small, sophisticated and beginner still has a whole new world of knowledge to explore when it comes to the particular language of Infrared Heating (IR); the issues and the benefits to be learned there.

In conversations about IR I often found myself spending a good deal of time on the groundwork; general and educative aspects. Once that was done you then move into getting great insight into what customers are actually looking for – it’s not always the same as you imagined! And then you start talking to them about solutions to their problems and actual needs. That gets everyone excited. And at the end of the day, we get much closer to our customers, which is the purpose of the show and where we need to be. Job done!

Well not quite. There’s the small matter of that week taken out from your normal job which now needs making up. New business or not, existing orders still need getting out the door. However, as Frank often says, it’s a high-grade problem to have. Ceramicx is looking forward to expansion on all these fronts as we go forward.

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Ceramicx IR heating to warm Chinaplas 2012

April 5, 2012 by Cathal Wilson

It’s a funny experience you know – packaging a suitcase for a trip to China.

Although the world is so much more of a global village today, there are still some essential differences that give me pause for reflection.

That phrase book, for example: I guess it’s a bit late in the day to have any thought of mastering that. Fortunately, language-wise Ceramicx will at least be partnered at all times at the Chinaplas exhibition by Xu Shen of our Beijing-based associate company HDD. Thanks to that facilitation we will have no problem speaking infrared heating to all comers in the Chinese plastics industry.

Those customs and cultural norms? Thankfully, Ceramicx – mainly in the person of my father Frank – now has several years of trading experience. In that regard he and I will be up to speed in our observance and practice of the social details that enable business in China to proceed smoothly.

I guess if I had one wish before getting on the plane it is that our specially created Ceramicx exhibition stand was able to fit in the overhead locker. We have invested a good deal in the design and impact of our image and products and are really looking to making an impression with it. Sadly, of course, that package will travel separately to Shanghai. Once reunited with it and constructed in the exhibition hall – then we can breathe easy.

One thing’s for sure, when Chinaplas 2012 opens for business on April 18th, exhibitor Ceramicx will be celebrating a business trajectory that represents several years of painstaking work.

We will bring to Shanghai the best in traceable and quality European IR technology. The Ceramicx process and our infrared heating products for the international plastics process industries are second to none. We are looking forward to an extremely productive time with Chinese thermoformers, blow moulders, machinery builders and other interests in the plastics reporting.

All to be reported on fully in our next HeatWorks magazine – due out end May 2012. Contact Ceramicx directly to get on our magazine mailing list.

Posted in Chinaplas, Infrared Heating, Infrared Heating Technology, Plastics Thermoforming, Thermoforming | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Back to work: both home and away

January 5, 2012 by Frank Wilson

Already it’s an interesting year: The Ceramicx exhibition stand has just been confirmed for Chinaplas 2012, April 18-21. As befits our Irish status, we have been located in the international hall at the mid point between the UK and the USA. Myself and Cáthál will both be in attendance in Shanghai. Ceramicx is looking forward to doing a significant level of business at Chinaplas 2012.

Whatever the commentators might say – and their guess is as good as yours – it is clear as day that the Asian economic juggernaut just keeps on coming. Ceramicx intends to be in the thick of it: Our infrared heating products will also be featured two months earlier in Delhi at Plastindia 2012 on the stand of our Indian partner, Elmec. Ceramicx will continue to affirm a commitment to these important export markets, which are the life blood of our company.

Ten days before Shanghai we will be back from Orlando, Florida where we will have exhibited at the USA’s premier National Plastics Exhibition (NPE) with our US Partner, Weco International. Truth to tell, the US economy is still the largest in the world and US manufacturing has shown a lot of fighting spirit through 2011. Ceramicx intends to do our very best by US industry – supplying innovation and profit-making through infrared heating solutions.

Speaking of size, I now read that Brazil has overtaken the UK as the sixth largest economy in the world. No shame there – the pace of Brazilian expansion has been at a quantum rate and the UK in any case is set to overhaul the French within the next three years

The South American situation is sitting up nicely for our new recruit, Patrick Wilson, who is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, who has travelled extensively and resided in that continent and who is keen to hit the sales and marketing trail once his production and manufacturing apprenticeship has completed.

In the meantime, however, our energies are much closer to home: We have a kiln to fire up; further plans to complete for our alternative energy generation; a new Innovation Partnership to kick start – and many other projects of the day to progress and complete.

Flexibility and balance come to mind already as watchwords for 2012: Successful businesses – from anywhere – will be able to ride the trade winds of global manufacturing only and as long as they have their house in order; have innovation on their side, together with a competitive offering. Those are the features that Ceramicx will be demonstrating to our markets throughout 2012.

Our HeatWorks magazine – fifth edition – will be on its way to our readers this month. If you missed out on our last issue – and want to get onto the circulation or have a story for our Spring 2012 issue – just order up from Ceramicx direct and get yourself on the mailing list.

Posted in ceramicx, Chinaplas, Infrared Heating, Infrared Heating Solutions, Plastindia | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Infrared experts Ceramicx prepares for Far Eastern mission

March 24, 2010 by Ceramicx

International heating systems specialist and manufacturer Ceramicx is preparing to take its ‘heat work’ expertise to a number of Far Eastern destinations in April, culminating in a two day visit to this year’s Chinaplas, in Shanghai. April 19-22.

Founder and Managing Director Frank Wilson says that ‘the areas where East meets West are always interesting places – technically, socially, culturally. At Ceramicx we are looking forward to sharing our European-based infrared heating know-how in a number of manufacturing sectors – and particularly in plastics where our infrared systems for thermoformers have a guaranteed quality for both machine builders and plastics processors.’

Frank’s first April stop will be Korea. ‘Korean manufacturing is still very dynamic – driven on by the likes of Samsung, LG and others. As well as infrared, Ceramicx will be offering its process control know-how to these OEMs and their suppliers.’

Next stop for Ceramicx will be China: ‘The Far Eastern team at Enterprise Ireland have been invaluable in helping the Ceramicx preparation for the outward mission,’ says Wilson. ‘Alan Buckley, Cathy Houlihan and Xiaojing Yue at Enterprise Ireland have all helped us immensely in the desk research and contact work needed for this project. Markets as specific as resin curing, infrared oven drying, thermoforming and others really are of a different scale and structure in China and the Far East.  We have spent a lot of careful time identifying our likely audience – and ways to reach them in China – and at Chinaplas this year.

Wilson is clear that a major part of the Ceramicx Far Eastern offering will be the product and component quality and traceability offered by Ceramicx. ‘An advanced process such as infrared heating requires a corresponding guarantee of product quality and assurance – something we believe will have a premium attraction in these markets. As European audiences may know already, we have been working with the University of Limerick on manufacturing systems that not only identify and quality assure infrared heating components – but also make the heating performance of every component supplied available to the customer – online and offline. Wherever they are in the world, all thermoforming machine builders and all our thermoforming processors need the security of this data and also full systems of product traceability.’

Frank Wilson will also use the opportunity of the Far Eastern trip to educate and inform about the potential for infrared heating technology generally. ‘Worldwide, the knowledge gap in industry about infrared and infrared heating is actually very wasteful,’ he says. ‘As far as we can tell – that infrared knowledge gap includes the Far East.  Most new projects for us usually begin with a search for a foothold on some IR expertise within the client company. Then we can create some common ground of understanding – and some solutions.’

After China and Chinaplas, Wilson returns to base via Antwerp where the SPE annual thermoforming conference takes place, from April 22-24.

All further details from Frank Wilson, Ceramicx Managing Director.

www.Ceramicx.com

Tel. +353 2837510

Fax + 353 2837509

frank@ceramicx.com

http://twitter.com/ceramicx

http://ie.linkedin.com/in/ceramicx

Posted in Chinaplas, Chinaplas 2010, Infrared Heating Experts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment