„The right partner“

ec camitec: Brackets and Bushings for Reinforcing Plastic Parts

With a new GRM-NC stamping and bending machine and the LEANTOOL technology, ec camitec autoparts co., ltd., which is based in the Chinese city if Nantong, is reacting to the fast-growing demand for stamped and bended parts for the automotive sector.

Top performance comes from choosing the right partner – that is the motto of ec camitec autoparts (nantong) co., ltd., which has its headquarters in the Chinese city of Nantong. The company, which was founded in 2006, specializes in the manufacture of stamped and bended parts for the automotive industry and, from a production area of approximately 16.000 m³, outputs some 600 million stamped/bended parts each year, in particular in the form of brackets and bushings for reinforcing plastic parts. It places the focus on outstandingly high parts quality combined with high precision and attention to detail. To achieve these goals, the company now possesses four Bihler systems. It started by acquiring two GRM 80E stamping and bending machines in 2016 and 2017, later followed by a GRM 80P in 2018. Last year, these were joined by the most recent machine: a Bihler GRM-NC stamping-bending system. The very first of these systems laid the foundation for the close, trusting partnership between the two companies: “Bihler provided us with the best possible support during the introduction of the new technology”, recounts Frank Xu, CEO of ec camitec autoparts (nantong) co., ltd.. “That is when we properly understood that Bihler is not just a simple system supplier but a fully-fledged solution provider. And that convinced us that the company was the right partner for us, one we could continue to work together with on the basis of trust and confidence in the future.”

First steps with the LEANTOOL system

One particularly important milestone in ec camitec’s expansion occurred in 2019 with the commissioning of a Bihler GRM-NC. This is because with this solution, the company also introduced the Bihler LEANTOOL system as a toolbox for progressive machining applications. “We were immediately won over by the ability to manufacture more economically using the LEANTOOL system thanks to the high proportion of standard parts we produce”, reports Xu. “What is more, the fact that it is an end-to-end solution allows us to implement all the individual steps a lot more easily than in the past. And last but not least, being able to create the tools much faster than before thanks to the LEANTOOL system is also of vital importance to us.”

Major extension

Since then, ec camitec has already produced a complete LEANTOOL tool and gained vital new expertise in this area. “At the same time, we can also offer our customers end-to-end tool solutions and, as a local company, ensure the necessary individualized support”, stresses Xu. “Here in China in particular, there is an enormous need for the Bihler LEANTOOL solution and, at the same time, we are witnessing a surge in the demand for high-end components which we manufacture on our Bihler systems”. These are two highly promising areas of future development for which ec camitec is extremely well equipped. This is because the company recently decided to extend its Bihler machine pool to a totel of eight systems by 2023.