Alpex and HRC form JV to provide composite tooling services in China

Alpex Technologies GmbH (Mils, Austria), a global manufacturer of tooling systems for producing aerospace and automotive composite components, recently has announced its entry into the China market. Alpex will provide professional composite tooling services to nearby customers in Asia by setting up a factory in Changshu city, Jiangsu Province.

The company has diversified services including project feasibility analysis, engineering, tooling (including tooling in specific material), fixture and prototype development, with sufficient know-how to employ state-of-the-art processes in HP-RTM, prepreg, pre-forming, C-SMC tools.

The new project, Jiangsu Alpex Technology Co. Ltd., is a joint venture set up by Alpex and HRC (Shanghai, China), committed to providing innovative tooling services, especially for mass production of carbon fiber composites for customers from various industries.

Compared with the process of traditional tooling development for metal or plastic products, the methodologies and practical experience of tooling system customized for composite components in China are relatively scarce. Michael Mair, general manager of Alpex China, believes that, currently, the major challenges for composite application lies in deficiency of composite tooling development mode and thinking barriers in China. Alpex conducts dynamic validation and optimization of tooling system from early design stage, with experience in tooling integration and automation. The company says its on-site technical services can help customers quickly gain hands-on knowledge of molding handling, assembly, use, maintenance and other related skills.

“As encouraged by the surging demands over the past few years, considering the huge potential and high recognition of composite application in China, we have become ever more confident in the Asian market,” says Mair.

With the establishment of the plant, Alpex’s professional services of composite tooling now cover the three most active areas of the composite industry, which are Europe, North America and Northeast Asia.