Kawata Machinery Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co., a Japanese-invested auxiliary equipment manufacturer in China, is making a push into the U.S. market.
Top company executives spent nearly a month in North America in November and concluded that Kawata is well positioned for a U.S. push now because of demand for the integrated systems and more automated equipment they manufacture.
But General Manager Wang Rui Xiang admitted to being worried - and caught off guard -- that the potential trade war between the U.S. and China could disrupt those plans.
Wang said President Trump's early April announcement of tariffs, including 25 percent duties on Chinese-made plastics equipment, took him by surprise.
But it hasn't changed his resolve, Wang said in an interview at the Chinaplas show in Shanghai in late April. In the long run, he believes that entering the US market will benefit both countries.
"I was considering this from the global economic structure," he said. "I believe that America definitely needs to develop their manufacturing industry."
"America has always wanted to be the world leader, so they spend so much money on military infrastructure," Wang said. "But when I visited, I saw that the bridges were so old. The roads were so old. Their machines were so old."
He believes the time is ripe for entry to support U.S. industry.
"I think America needs another industrial revolution," Wang said. "America can't just depend on imported goods."
To that end, he said the company could - in the long run - set up a production base in the U.S.
