Uni-corp opens new light equipment factory in China

Uni-corp, the Singapore-based manufacturer of Hoppt and Paclite light construction equipment, has opened a 60000 m2 production facility in Haimen, 200 km west of Shanghai.

The new facility will now be home to Uni Corp's light equipment, mold base manufacturing and engineering activities, as well as its Hitachi elevator manufacturing business.

Haimen includes a 10000 m2 assembly area for roller compactors and the Paclite Duplex rollers currently built in Shanghai. This area will also accommodate a future range of ride-on tandem rollers for Europe and the US.

The facility has automatic and precision tools, laser equipment and robot welders, and includes tooling equipment moved from its existing Singapore and Shanghai plants. Around a third of the existing Shanghai facility will be retained for production.

Kent Gorsun, sales director for Paclite in Europe, told IRN that the main focus now was on developing its range of rollers based on Kubota engines and Japanese hydraulic systems.

The Haimen factory currently employs 200 staff, but by March next year when the production move has been completed there will be 400 workers at the plant.

Uni-corp has been producing light equipment for several decades. Its brands include Hoppt, which is used in Asia Pacific, while Paclite Equipment sells Uni-corp products in Europe. In the US, Equipment Synergy International (ESI) markets a range of light products produced by Uni-corp and other suppliers.