Zhafir delays German production start-up

Haitian International chief strategy officer Helmar Franz has told EPN that the company’s plans to begin production of its high-end Zhafir Mercury range of all-electric machines at Ebermannsdorf have been delayed by between four and six months.

The delay, which he attributes to a factory building boom in the area, means the Ebermannsdorf plant building will not now be ready until the second half of 2009 with production perhaps delayed to 2010.

Franz said some Mercury prototypes will be built in early 2009 and confirmed that the company is holding to its original plan to build the Mercury range only in Germany for sale primarily to Asian markets.

Haitian also that it has supplied a Venus all-electric model from the Zhafir subsidiary to Swedish moulder Holmgrens Plast.

Stefan Holmgren, founder and CEO of the Gnosj"-based company, said that the decision to buy the Venus VE600 machine was based on its desire for an all-electric solution “with internationally comparable performance.” He said the machine has been in operation for some time and has proved a good choice.

“Fully electric machines not only have higher precision, repeat accuracy and production rates, they also conserve resources. They are cleaner, quieter, more energy efficient and ultimately more cost effective,” he said.

Franz said that while many all-electric machine makers stress injection speed, it is the acceleration to maximum speed that is most important. He claims that the Venus machine’s ability to reach 350 mm/s within a 9.6mm stroke gives it the fastest acceleration in the market, and at a 20-25% cost saving on competitors.