Yizumi Opens Expanded Facility in Ohio

Yizumi-HPM, the U.S. subsidiary of the global Chinese machinery maker, has expanded operations in Iberia, Ohio, for the second time in seven years, nearly doubling its space to 44,000 square feet from the 28,000 square feet unveiled in 2017 when it moved operations from its longstanding base in Marion, Ohio.

Yizumi Chairman and CEO Richard Yan, who traveled to Ohio for the grand opening event, told Plastics Technology that the $11-million investment is in response to continued growth in the North American market, including 2024 when sales have risen 35% at a time when many injection molding machine suppliers have experienced weaker activity. In a presentation, Yan said U.S. revenue is approaching $25 million over the last two years. To further support that growth, the company opened a tech center in Greenville, South Carolina, and purchased land in Guanajuato, Mexico, for a planned facility there. Construction on that plant is slated to start this year and be completed in 2027.

In addition to providing a service center with machine and spare parts inventory, the expanded space will provide technical support, after-sales service, training, and mold testing and validation. Staffing includes 13 local technical service staff, with the company promising next- or same-day delivery for 90% of parts, with more than $2 million worth of parts inventory on hand in Iberia. In total, there are presently more than 30 employees in Iberia.

The new space will also enable the company to keep up to 40 presses in inventory compared to 15 to 20 in the past. The installation of a larger overhead crane, with double the lifting capacity of its predecessor, will also enable Yizumi to assemble full machines in Ohio.

Yizumi acquired the former HPM in 2011, and the company says (not including legacy HPM machines), it has an installed base of more than 200 Yizumi presses in the U.S. The company supplies plastic and rubber molding machines and automation, as well as an industrial 3D printing system, with die casting and thixomolding presses for metal forming.

In injection molding, it offers servo-hydraulic and all-electric machines, including larger two-platen lines, multicomponent machines and high-speed systems designed for packaging. In the U.S., Yan said 60% of Yizumi’s business is generated via sales of plastic injection molding machines. In 2023, the company generated $576.49 million in total sales, with $239.7 million coming from injection molding, $58.5 million in die casting and $13.5 million in rubber.

Founded in 2002 as a manufacturer of plastic injection molding machines, Yizume added rubber molding in 2009 and acquired HPM in 2011. In 2016, the company built a new facility in India, with the expansion into the U.S. the next year. It then opened subsidiaries in Vietnam, Germany, Thailand and Brazil in 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023, respectively. It also has plans to expand its operations in Hungary and Italy.

Yizumi has five manufacturing facilities in China, where it’s also building a new global headquarters slated to open in 2027. Current monthly injection molding machine capacity comes in at 1,500 to 1,800 presses per month.