*
Page Title
4
A New Strategic
Ilan Melamed
:“
The objective of the new business
strategy is to chart a roadmap for the continued
growth of the Plastics Division over the next 5 years.
This strategy is predicated on the continued
development of the existing product basket and additional
growth engines that will open up new options to us – in terms
of materials, in terms of applications and in various territories.”
Interview with
Ilan Melamed
,
Plastics Division
Managing Director
*
Expanding Infrastructures
Nilit’s management decided to begin a
process of charting a multiyear business
strategy for the Plastics Division, with
the objective of generating a roadmap
for the Division’s continued growth.For
the purpose of this mission, Nilit hired
the services of the McKinsey consulting
firm. During the months May-July
intensive work was carried out, in
which the Division’s senior managers,
together with the consultants from
McKinsey, examined the Division’s
current activity and the competitive
environment in which it operates,
as well as new areas the Division can
tackle.
“
To Identify Additional
Growth Engines”
Ilan Melamed
,
Plastics Division
Managing Director: Nilit Plastics
currently operates primarily in the field
of nylon 6.6 and mainly in Europe and
China, with minor activity in additional
markets such as the United States.
Our activity focuses on applications
connected with the electric and
electronics industry and with the
automotive industry. The objective
of the new strategy is to focus the
Division on additional growth engines
that will open up new options to us
–
in terms of materials, in terms of
applications and in various territories.
Continuing the Growth
Momentum
Ilan
:
The Plastics Division was
established some 15 years ago as an
additional business branch of Nilit.The
Division’s activity during the last decade
has changed from a niche activity that
constituted about 5% of Nilit’s total
sales to a level of nearly 45% of the
Group’s current activity. Over the past
few years the Division has maintained a
growth rate of close to 20% per annum.
It is important for me to note that
the rapid development of the Plastics
activity is taking place concurrently
with the continuous growth of Nilit’s
Fibers activity. The investment in
expanding production infrastructures
over the past 2 years, which was
channeled primarily to Fibers, reflects
management’s intention to continue
The Texturing Plant – Adding an Air Jet Texturing Machine
Yariv
:
We built the infrastructures and added a new air jet texturing machine that
performs a subsequent procedure in the processing of Cordura yarn manufactured
in POY. In the future two more air jet texturing machines will be added, which will
help provide a response for full production by the extruder.
What is the significance of the expansion for the company and for Nilit
Migdal Ha’emek in particular?
Yariv
:
An expansion of the texturing and POY infrastructures was accompanied by
the recruitment of 40 new employees along with intensive guidance and training
processes.The costly investment in infrastructure conveys management’s confidence
in the Migdal Ha’emek site and makes a significant statement with regard to the
continuity of Nilit and of the Fibers Division.
Expansion in China
The Establishment of a POY Plant
Employing Innovative Cutting-Edge
Technology
The setup of the plant includes 8
extruders. On July 1st, Princo, an
equipment manufacturer with rich
experience, began installations in the
new building. As opposed to Barmag,
Nilit’s veteran equipment provider,
Princo makes use of parallel spinning
technology; the yarn is not drawn by
rotation or twisting, but goes directly
down to a winder. In addition, there’s
a difference in the process of drying
and moving the polymers, a different
concept in the area of air-conditioning
that preserves the yarn’s uniformity, a
difference in the process of classifying
(
ranking) irregularities, as well as
automation in moving finished products
up to packaging.
The team operating the lines in China
deals with the operational aspect
of setup, using new work methods
and building a guidance program and
products for transferring know-how
to the new plant. The test-run team
also works on a number of planes
and includes teams from the areas of
operations, information systems, human
resources, engineering and more.
Setting up the building and working
with the equipment provider is the
responsibility of
Shmulik Srulevich
,
the project manager.
Building the Compounding Plant
The new plant includes two production
lines – one is new and the other
previously operated at the Fibers
plant. The infrastructure will facilitate
a growth of up to 3 times the current
capacity and significant growth for the
Plastics activity.
*
Further details on the expansion
in China – in the next issue!
The Projects
Management Team,
in front of the new
POY plant in China.
From right to left:
Xu Kebin
,
Shmulik Srulevich
,
Shirley Bu
and
Jess Shao
.
►
