Q&A: East meets West in Bole-Proplas success story

Bole, a supplier of IMMs from China, has made significant inroads into the UK market since entering the fray a few years ago. Dave Gray caught up with Hardeep Khera, general manager, Bole UK, to find out about his work with injection moulder Proplas

DG: So Hardeep, the partnership with Proplas 2008 started with the firm taking a trip to Chinaplas in 2016 right? What were they looking for on that trip, and what did they find?

HK: That's right, they went to Chinaplas, not with the intention of looking for machinery, but just looking for toolmakers and moulds more than anything. But they've got a really good friend out there who introduced them to Bole. 

As a result of a bad experience in the UK that they had with a with an OEM,they also wanted to look to at Chinese OEMs, and have a look at the technology that they werebringing. So, they kind of stumbled across Bole. They had a look at the machine, they didn't have any intention of buying the machine, but they had a look at it, and they noticed the quality. And I think they saw which direction the company was going in. So that really encouraged them to make the first investment in a 520 tonne machine. And then from there it just snowballed. They realised that Bole were challenging the stereotypes of Chinese machines, and that the quality is there, and is progressing in the right direction.

DG: So are those stereotypes a problem for you? How do you challenge them?

HK: It's similar to when Italian machinery first came into the market. Obviously, the German brands dominated the market, and when Italian brands entered the fray, there was some scepticism there, which is no longer there today, because the quality has been proven. And of course, China as a country is so quick to progress. They want to compete, so they'll bring in the best engineers, they'll bring in the best designers, and just give them the creative freedom to build the machine that's going to compete.

DG: And are Bole still investing in R&D?

HK: By the end of this year, they'll have a second plant be up and running, which is going to be three times the size of the current plant. And it's going to triple the current output, from 6000 to around about 18,000 machines worldwide. And they're also looking to bring some suppliers in-house, building factories for their other equipment.

 That gives them more control over lead times and production forthings like screws and barrels, servo motors, as well as testing. They've invested $25 million dollars in a short period of time.

DG: And so going back to Proplas 2008, you put together a machine replacement program, is that right? What did that involve, in their case?

HK: Well, as I said, the first machine that was purchased was the 520, which was really a trial and error machine, they wanted to see what it was capable of. And by the way, that first machine is still running really well today. 

So after that, they started purchasing more machines, but at the same time, we started to increase the specification on those machines for them. They don't have to be just standard, no-frills machines. We can increase the spec to run more faster cycling jobs, or more technical jobs for example.

 So the later machines that they purchased were quite high spec in order to allow them to run far more difficult jobs. For example, one of the machines is a 550-ton machine, with a separate robot, and it's running the cycle time around 13 seconds, which is quick for a large machine - that rivals someof the European brands out there.  But it was definitely a learning curve for both of us.

DG: So how does that work? Do you feed that back to China and then they make the modifications? Or is it stuff that you can do at your end?

HK: A lot of it comes from China. So our machines in the UK, they're a higher spec compared tosome of the Bole machines in other countries. And that's reflective of what we found in the UK.

We listened to what customers wanted on the machines, we listened to what customers might have needed on the machines. It's great to represent a company that takes ideas from its international teams and puts those changes into effect.

DG: And what do you think about some of the machines larger European brands are launching? In recent times, a couple of major European brands have brought machines originally targetted at the Asian market into the UK and Europe, for those customers who just need a quality, 'no frills' machine.

HK: Probably the best way to say it is that with Bole, we think we can offer the best of both worlds. You know, I always say to people that Chinese machines are like jigsaw puzzles, you can pretty much just add on whatever you want and keep changing it to whatever you need it to be. The add-ons are pretty much endless. Due to cost, the options that people might want on European machines aren't always feasible. That cost tends to be a lot lower on Chinese machines, giving people the chance to try those add-ons.

DG: Do you find that a lot of the sales that you've seen in the last couple of years are for commodity applications? Or is are your machines being used for a mix of commodity and highly technical work?

HK: I always say to people, there is always a cheaper machine out there, just as there's always going to be a more expensive machine. It's about finding the right machine with the right service. As I said, the machines we sell are capable of being adapted to a range of complex and technical jobs.

DG: And as for the reshoring that we've seen in recent years, is it just a moment that's going to come and pass? Or is it a long term trend?

HK: It's a difficult one, I think. At the end of the day, everyone needs to look at the prices they'reoffering to their consumers. If there is a country that does it cheaper, people tend to go that way.

Because obviously, it's difficult right now, you know, a lot of companies aren't making profit, a lot of companies aren't breaking even. So wherever they can save a few pennies on a project, you know, they will look at it. One of the major factors the influenced reshoring was container prices increasing massively during the pandemic, it went from $2,000 to $20,000. But if you have a look at it now, container prices are actually back around $2,200 compared to what they were during COVID. Hopefullya lot of the trade moulders have built relationships with UK customers where if price isn't the onlyimportant factor - reliability and quality are major benefits.

DG: And part of the ambition for Proplas 2008 was to upgrade some really old machines and start getting some energy savings. So how has that turned out for them?

HK: They'll have a few more machines up for replacement this year, which will continue to help them bring their energy usage down. It's a case of saving where we can, even the small differences: not just machinery, but lightings and fixtures, you know, it all makes a difference at the end of the day.

DG: And when it comes to upgrading machinery, it's no small undertaking no matter what brand you buy from. What support is there for moulders?

HK: We're quite fortunate to work with finance brokers in the UK, so we can offer really competitive finance deals. We also work quite closely with a Birmingham-based grant application company, who are able to find suitable grants in order to help UK moulders just to recoup a little bit of their money as well.

DG: So for Proplas, how have the Bole investments helped with their long-term strategy?

HK: Since COVID, turnover has been increasing. So they're clearly doing something right on that side. But their focus right now isn't so much on sales, it's on finding the savings. And I think that's where they really benefit from their investments.

DG: And did the machines helped them to get a foothold into any new markets?

HK: Well, by bringing in more energy efficient machines and more reliable machines, they've been able to win big UK and potential European contracts. They've actually grown their sales revenues massivelyover the last few years. The larger capacity does allow them to go on the hunt for larger contracts and new business. It's really good news for UK manufacturing.

DG: So finally, what's the next step in Bole's journey?

HK: Expansion and investment. We're still a relatively young company, but over the last few years we've managed to get a foot in the door in the UK market. So we'll be looking to build upon that. And obviously Interplas is coming up this year. Our first Interplas really helped put us on the map. So we'll be looking to build on the success of that show. And finally, we want to keep challenging the stereotypes around Chinese machines, and we'll continue to do that by demonstrating the quality and longevity of the Bole brand.