Interview with Agustín Durán, commercial Director of C.T. Servicio, S.A. - Centrotécnica: "In twenty years the 50 per cent of medium and small tonnage machines are electric"

Nerea Gorriti17/04/2008

Backed by a Japanese brand of first level as Toshiba Machine C.T. Servicio, S.A. - Centrotécnica sells, among other teams, fully electric injection machines. Due to its extensive experience in the technology of these machines and Spanish market knowledge, universal plastics took advantage of the personalized technical conference Centrotécnica organized the month of April to interview to Agustín Durán, commercial Director of the company. The advantages of the electric injectors with the hydraulic, the change of international mentality with regard to new technology or the difficulties involved in the sale of a machine of high technology in a conservative market such as the Spanish are some of the topics covered.

You who have direct contact with the Spanish entrepreneurship, what advantages and challenges are marketing an electric machine? It is a difficult change for transformer?

Go to a client with an electric machine is like selling a car and tell him this vehicle consumes a liter 100 km and maintenance must be made within one hundred thousand. It is still hard people can understand, creates it or assumes it. Although Toshiba Machine is a multinational brand of acclaim and we give all the warranty, it is a problem of mentality.
Another, is that all the European manufacturers have climbed on the bandwagon of this fashion of the electrical machine. For its part, the Japanese has ten or fifteen years ahead to the European and that it is more likely to sell. For example it is easy that our European competitors have customers with ten or fifteen machines of your brand and it is therefore easier to propose them prove an electrical machine.
However, we must bear in mind that the European has no Japanese technology and these electric machines are currently in the process of development, stage already surpassed by the Japanese, why a certain mistrust on the electrical machine is generatingWhen the Japanese machinery is quite the opposite; It functions as a numerical control, has no technical problems and provides an absolute reliability. Conversely, the problem for companies like ours is that in the case of these machines the service ceases to be a business because there is practically no sale of spare parts and or technical assistance.

Centrotécnica distributes the Japanese brand Toshiba from more than a year ago.

But Centrotécnica has a large technical team

Of course, always should be a specialized technical team and a large stock of spare parts dedicated to the electrical machine Toshiba Machine if there is an accident or failure but it is nothing compared to the assistance of a hydraulic machine. If, for example, has five years, a work needed constant maintenance of changes of gaskets, pumps, valves, etc., than the electric machine while not. If you ask the Japanese, "what is the life of a servo motor of a spindle linear movement?", answered: ' we have ten years with this generation of machines and we have never changed or a single piece; Maybe in five years, say that fifteen last '. What is harder is to explain to the customer, is like saying 'you sell a table that has no legs and will hold'. Some believe that it may not be, but this is!

Since the electrical machine market, have appreciated some change in the mentality?

Yes, everyone has in mind the electrical machine and everyone can invest in it. First, energy savings, as energy costs more and more e strikes much produced piece. Now, in addition, refers much of climate change and the importance of energy saving...

In the electric, what trends have been observed?

The trend of future is that in small tonnages and media, tenderemos to the Japan model (and in the U.S. it is asserting itself also). In the Japanese country tonnages less than 200 tonnes machines are all electric. So much so that Toshiba, one of the largest manufacturers of hydraulic machine in the world, failed to produce the hydraulics of less than 200 tonnes. What is more, the thousand tons in Japan already have with 70 percent of electrical machine.

But as I mentioned before, Europe is far from reaching the Japanese indices...

Here in Europe is different. After making our sales meeting we can see is testimonial. The electric machine represents a very low percentage, we are very far from achieving what Japan been achieved, although the trend is that. And again, here in Spain and Europe, those who do not make a technical piece of technology or a high added value will close. The cheap piece will be in Eastern Europe or in China and which does not produce a technical piece will disappear. To avoid this, you need a machine with technology.

It is a type of different client?

No, any transformer, the sector, can use electrical injectors; Moreover this change means a great step forward for their plant and the results obtained; It is also true that our customers for example, having a Boy machines with twenty and thirty years old who do not have or microprocessor and which can not get to control accurately the quality or production continue to work.

But, why is it so attractive for the market? How could our companies benefit from this technology?

The main difference is that to be all moved by servo motors, remove many components by which reduces the probability of suffering you fault, breaks or wear over time.

The machine is actually much simpler but is more capable to control and providing reliability and repeatability, basic factors to produce plastic parts: the piece is always the same, that has the same dimension, weight, and so on.
And not only that, but that a hydraulic machine moves by oil. Therefore, pressures or ambient temperature changes, this change density which makes the performance of the machines varies and the hydraulic machinery should be constantly reajustada, even several times in a same work shift. There are parts defective, or of variable quality; We must stop the production and reset the machine. On the other hand the electric fuel transfer works as if it were a machine tool of numerical control, i.e. all the velocities, pressures, movements or distances are always the same. Can millions of cycles be making always the same give any problem, always produce the same piece without any variations.

Consumption is also important to...

Of course. With this machine the savings in energy consumption is up to 80 per cent, only with regard to the current because then there is another advantage is that the hydraulic machine needs cooling for the oil, so we reduce the consumption of a chilled waterlower investment in equipment for cooling and a further reduction in energy consumption. The particular technology of servomotors Panasonic, designed for use in these machines and used exclusively by Toshiba Machine, do not require any type of cooling by water or by air.

What idea are the Spaniards of the Japanese machine and how it is becoming the marketing of the Toshiba in Spain machine?

In the case of Spain and Europe, the more established Japanese brand is Toshiba Machine. In the past, this great brand had a representative in Spain and sold some hydraulic machines.
This distributor was reinstated in what is now another German mark and the Toshiba Machine was found without a representative or possibility of finding another capable of representation in our market. There was a bit of confusion among customers because it is not just buy the piece from a local agent who do one of the venues in Europe (Germany and England) or even Japan, time, language and cost of transport. Currently, to be present in the East market, the Asian is extensive but begins to be saturated, Toshiba Machine has boosted their headquarters in Germany and United Kingdom (operating for more than 15 years) and it has appointed representatives in different countries; trusting the Spanish mark at C.T.Servicio-Centrotécnica, that with more than thirty years of experience and a solid technical structure and sales, we guarantee customers the supply of machines and Service post sale to the highest level. In addition, we are autonomous, we are putting in place, we take care of training, sell, negotiate and even finance the machinery. The customer deals directly with us, we give the service, the guarantee, we have spare parts in stock, documentation, and technical specialists trained by the brand.

They have recently opened a service center...

Yes, for the area of the Levant. We have a technician for years in the area of Valladolid for the areas Centre, Galicia and Castile. There we have installed many machines Italtech large number factories such as Renault, Peguform, Visteon and Plastic Omnium, among other companies. They are large machines that work 24 hours a day for the automotive sector and need a quick assistance.
In the area of Levante we have an agreement of collaboration with an established company, offering a service with six people. We also offer customer service 24-hour telephone customer. 75 Percent of the problems are solved over the phone and it is free for the customer.

As the Toshiba ranges, what tonnage implement your catalog?

In fully electric machine more commercial tonnage is going for the 100 450 tonnes, although the range starts at 20 reaching the 850 tons in Toshiba Machine. This company also manufactures hybrid machines in which 90 per cent of the machine is electric to 3,500 tons. It is of the few manufacturers in the world making it and the only Japanese who comes to Europe with this product.
The machine more supplied is 100-160-220 tons, although the advantage of fully electric machines of greater tonnage, which few manufacturers produce, opens some interesting possibilities for those who work with larger casts. They are most entry are in the market, which is on the other hand, the wider and where there is more competition, both electric and hydraulic.

Centrotécnica will take part in Equiplast 2008?

Yes. We are already preparing the fair. We will have a stand of 400 square meters which will feature several surprises. We believe that there will be a change of mind after the fair, when customers see that all the companies marketed electric machines.
In the future, in twenty years in terms of tonnage medium and small (between 100 and 300 tons), 50 per cent of the machines are electric, insurance.

Centrotécnica has been organizing form continued and lately during the month of April technical seminars custom installations of Viladecans (Barcelona) where Unveils their injectors electric running, starring the new generation of Toshiba electric injectors of the NII EC series.

The accuracy achieved by the production units of Toshiba Machine, are one of the main characteristics by which the Japanese company, has become habitual supplier of main technical transformers from all over the world.