Delcam,which is represented in New Zealand by Camplex, held its annual Asian Technical Summit in Zhuhai, China, from 6th to 8th September as part of the celebrations of the fifteenth anniversary of the founding of its Delcam China subsidiary. The Summit is held each year to present the latest developments from the company to its leading customers, academicians and the technical media in the region. This year’s meeting, which was sponsored by HP, was the eleventh in the series and the second to be held in China. Close to 200 delegates attended, mainly from China but also from 10 other countries.

The Summit featured presentations on the latest versions of Delcam’s range of CAM systems before their official launch at the EMO exhibition. Updates were also included on the other software in the Delcam portfolio, including the company’s design and inspection programs, plus the dedicated software for the footwear, orthotics and dental industries.

Guest speakers alongside the Delcam presentations included Alastair Morgan, Consul General from the UK Consulate in Guangzhou, Kexin Chu, CEO/Chairman of First Auto Works Die Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Marco Kormann from Adidas Group, and Naoto Kitayama from Japan’s Tatematsu Mold Co. Ltd.

Delcam formed its Delcam China subsidiary in 1996 after making initial sales into the country through its joint ventures in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Delcam China now employs more than 50 staff in its headquarters in Beijing and regional offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xi’an, Wenzhou, Qingdao and Quanzhou. In addition, the Delcam Hong Kong and Delcam Taiwan joint ventures operate two offices each in mainland China, and there are more than 30 reseller offices in the country.

The Summit comes at a time when Delcam is setting new records for its business in China. Sales of software have increased by more than 50% in the first half of this year compared to the first six months of 2010.

This rapid growth has helped the company to reach 2,000 customers in the country. During the Summit, a presentation was made to Liang Zhenghua, General Manager of the 2,000th customer, Zhejiang KaiHua Moulds Co., Ltd. This mouldmaking company is typical of the hundreds of smaller toolmakers and subcontractors that are adopting Delcam software to increase their productivity, improve their quality and reduce their lead times.

However, Delcam’s customers also include many of the country’s larger organisations, including First Auto Works, Xi’an Aircraft Industry Group, Changchun Railway Vehicles, Dongfang Electrical Machinery, Gree Electrical Appliances and Pou Chen, one of the world’s major producers of footwear.