Taby, Sweden – In 2016, Piab will celebrate their 10th anniversary in China. During the past decade, the number of staff at the company's office in Shanghai has increased five-fold, from four to 20. This is hardly surprising considering that revenues have increased roughly 15 times over the same period.

”With an annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 30 percent for the past few years, our sales revenue in China is set to account for 10 percent of Piab's global sales within a couple of years. For Piab, China is one of the fastest growing markets in the Asia/Pacific region, and the Chinese industrial climate is also changing very quickly, creating new opportunities for us,” comments Benson Lim, Regional Director Asia.

Benson Lim is seeing great potential for the application of Piab's products in the automation segment, with packaging and robotic handling making new inroads in China. ”Due to rising labour costs there is a lot of pressure on producers to automate manufacturing processes, and to optimise their productivity through increased application of robotics. The labour market is changing rapidly with salaries increasing steadily,” he says.

The automotive industry is also very active and is expected to invest heavily in the near future. The demographics of China's growing population are changing, and the relatively wealthy middle-classes are buying more cars. However, they are also expected to require more medicines.

”The pharmaceutical industry is forecast to grow, and so are the requirements for safer handling of materials in the processing plants. Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) is currently a focus point for many manufacturers, not just in pharma, but also in the food industry, providing great opportunities for Piab's materials handling products,” Lim continues.

Offering state-of-the-art solutions to all these industries, and building on a very successful first decade in the country, Piab is particularly well placed to further strengthen its foothold in the Chinese market.

About Piab

Established in 1951, Piab designs innovative vacuum solutions that improve the energy-efficiency, productivity, and working environments of vacuum users around the world. As a reliable partner to many of the world's largest manufacturers, Piab develops and manufactures a complete line of vacuum pumps, vacuum accessories, vacuum conveyors and suction cups for a variety of automated material handling and factory automation processes. Piab utilizes COAX®, a completely new dimension in vacuum technology, in many of its original products and solutions. COAX® cartridges are smaller, more energy efficient and more reliable than conventional ejectors, and can be integrated directly into machinery. This allows for the design of a flexible, modular vacuum system. Piab is a worldwide organization with subsidiaries and distributors in almost 70 countries. Its headquarters are in Sweden.

More information

Häla El Sheemy Washbrook, Vice President Marketing and Communications Manager
Tel: +46 (0) 8 630 25 74
E-mail: hala.e.washbrook@piab.com