The “green” theme highlighted at the Chinaplas 2010 trade show covers many categories of products. For injection molding machines, the “greenness” is measured and certified by third party organizations. In fact, the recently-developed Chinese standards for energy-saving injection machines are quite lofty, compared to, for instance, the German equivalent.

Machinery makers have been increasingly touting the energy-saving features of their products in recent years, but there was no system in place to regulate these claims, according to Qian Yaoen, general secretary of the China Plastics Machinery Industry Association. He spoke at the Green Forum during the Chinaplas show.

The Beijing-based trade group joined hands with the National Plastic Machinery Quality Inspection and Testing Center and Chinplas organizer Adsale Group, to make sure that the energy-conserving injection molding machines displayed at Chinaplas are all tested and certified.

“This is the first time in history that a plastics trade fair implements strict verification practices for energy-saving machines,” Qian said. The move is in response to the global trends of low carbon print, energy conservation and sustainable growth as well as a sign of development of the Chinese industry, he added.

China’s first sets of industry standards for energy-saving injection molding machines took effect the second half of last year, categorizing all presses in the marketplace into six energy-consumption levels — level one being the most energy-efficient.

Only machines that consume no more than 0.55 kwh per kilogram of processed product — level 1 and 2 — can be labeled energy-efficient, Qian said.

“Our standard is even stricter than the European standard, which is 0.6 kwh/kg,” he pointed out.

While all-electric presses remain the most energy-efficient, quite a few Chinese press makers showcased new generations of servo-driven machines at Chinaplas.

“These servo-driven machines are getting close to all-electric presses in terms of energy consumption, but only with much better price/value ratio, durability and low velocity performance,” said Simon Ho, director of marketing and international trade department at Cosmos Machinery Ltd.

Haitian International Holdings Ltd.’s latest servo press consumes 80 percent less electricity than conventional machines, Qian said.

Guangzhou Borch Machinery Co. Ltd. also introduced a line of patented servo-driven presses, and President Burender Zhu told Plastics News that the company developed the servo motor independently.

“If you are a buyer, and you see a press that claims to be energy-efficient without our third-party verification, you need to be ware,” Qian said.