China's Fuyang -- China's thermoplastic elastomer manufacturer Top Plastic Industrial Co., Ltd. is investing 15 million US dollars in the construction of a new manufacturing plant near Atlanta. This is the company's first production base outside China, will further promote its entry into the US market.
The production base will be built in the city of Saoxi, Georgia, covering 60,000 square feet. It will have three composite production lines with an annual production capacity of 16 million pounds. Top Plastics has two production bases in China and the US base is planned for 2019. May put into production.
Marcus Tsong, president of Top Plastic Industries, stated that Georgia’s factory has a sales target of US$10 million over the next three years. He believes this goal is very feasible.
About 80 percent of the company’s current business is in Asia, but Tsong said that many of its customers’ headquarters are located in North America and Europe, and the volume of exports is growing.
When he was interviewed at the production base in Fuyang recently, he said: 'If you look at our global market, you will find that our largest market is the Asia Pacific region, and North America is the second largest market.'
He said: 'Now, our sales in North America have not yet reached 20% of our total revenue. Our expectation and plan is that sales in the North American market can grow to 40% of the total.'
The company has 150 employees in its factories in Shenyang and Dongguan, China, and plans to hire 70 employees in Georgia. The factory in the area will initially produce elastomeric compounds of styrenic block copolymers and thermoplastic vulcanizates.
The company said in a statement: 'We see the United States as a major market for high-end applications.'
Top Plastic Industries also manufactures thermoplastic copolyesters and thermoplastic polyurethanes. It has 13 compounding lines in China with a capacity of 56 million pounds.
Tsong said that international expansion was a decision that took three years to complete.
Growing customer base
He said: 'After 14 years of development, we are ready to serve customers around the world.' He pointed out that all positions in the company seek employees with a technical background, including marketing and sales.
The company was established in Dongguan in 2004 and opened a factory in Fuyang, Jiangsu Province, about 150 miles west of Shanghai in 2008.
Since its inception, the company has supplied TPS materials for the oral care market and focused on the Chinese market, with 60% of its business concentrated in China.
But with the expansion of the company's customer base - about 500 customers and 30 exporting countries, and the increasing localization of the company's automotive industry customers. Tsong said that this is a good time to expand to North America. Companies need to be closer to those markets.
He said: 'The characteristic of our industry is that we pay more attention to our customers. We must respond quickly and immediately provide services to our customers.'
He said that landing in the US market will help new product development. 'The speed of information exchange and product upgrades is very fast. But from 17 hours flight time from China to the United States, cross-border operations are still not fast enough.'
Top Polymer Enterprise LLC, a top US company in the plastics industry, will be headed by Ralph Stone to manage the business.
Tsong said that in order to find a suitable production base in the United States, the company has inspected many places.
He said: 'We visited five states, visited Cleveland, Ohio, Indianapolis, and finally settled in Georgia. We are satisfied with its location and climate. In addition, the region’s tax policy is also the most important to us. satisfied. '
He found that local governments in the United States were very interested in Chinese companies. He said: 'The US states yearn for (investments from China), and they set up special teams to attract investment in China and the Asia Pacific region.'
Tsong said that the company has the idea of other international sales growth. The company is also very interested in India and other markets in South Asia, which currently have no export business. He recently visited Pakistan and investigated the local market.
He said: 'In the past two years, we have continued to pay attention to the development of the Indian market. India is currently the industry's fastest growing market. At present, our export volume to the Indian market is zero, but its development momentum can not be ignored.'
Top Plastic Industries' main terminal markets are automotive, electronics, packaging, consumer and medical.