One of the factors that give an advantage to China mould industry is that there are so many factories of mould component suppliers here, including both multi-national and Chinese manufacturers. Hot runner market in China is also booming with the development of China mould industry in recent years.

Here, we can see many factories of the leading hot runner brands in the world or even the smaller brands. Big brands such as Yudo, Mold Master, Husky... have factories or service centers in China.

Many companies even have been setting up a series of manufacturing plants or offices here. For example, Yudo has set up six manufacturing subsidiaries across China, in Dongguan, Suzhou, Qingdao, and Ningbo, to reduce shipping costs, tap into qualified labor and to be near its primary customers — mould makers. Or Milacron - the world’s second-largest hot runner manufacturer – has about 11 locations (manufacturing facilities or Representative offices) across China. Recently, Milacron announced it is investing $10 million to beef up its factory near Shanghai to capitalize on China’s growing appetite for the technology.

Besides the big brands in the world, in China we can also find plenty of Chinese hot runner manufacturers. These companies are also having growth and investing more in developing technology in order to compete with the big brands. The more hot runner manufacturers, the better quality and price the competition among them will bring to market. This will also help China mould industry have certain advantages.

In Guangdong, currently there are more than 6,000 mould makers, which is a potential for the development of mould component industry. If we pay attention, we will find out that many hot runner manufacturers have factories in Guangdong, especially in Dongguan and Shenzhen.

Hot runner systems save resin and production time and result in a more attractive, higher-quality product. “You can save 25 percent of the plastic material,” Roy Wong - overseas operation manager for Guangdong Yudo Hot Runner Systems Co. Ltd. said to Plastic News at Chinaplast Trade Show 2015. “Also, it saves time. The cooling time is faster.” 

Hot runners are in demand across many industries, including automotive, household appliance, medical, and packaging, Wong said. Hot runners are part of an industry-wide automation push by processors who are looking over their shoulders at increasing competition at home and abroad. Hot runner systems also generate higher-quality yields for plastics mixed with additives such as glass or talc, explained David St. Aubin, general manager at PETS Hot Runner (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd. “[Hot runner systems] accelerate the crystallization process.”

With the slowdown of the Chinese economy, China mould industry is also under a certain influence. However, when reviewing the market, we will see that the growth potential of this industry is very high. The main problem is that mould makers need to have a reasonable strategy, especially improving mould quality, and leverage existing advantages, such as the current development of the hot runner system industry.