Tool assembly area inside the new plant

Privately held Bluestar Mould Group is ramping up production at a 16,878-square-meter expansion across the street from its current plant in Shenzhen.

Mold assembly began last month. By the end of the year, Bluestar will begin mold testing as well as research and development in the new facility.

The expansion will boost Bluestar's capacity by 40 percent, the company announced in a news release. It will include 13 injection molding machines for testing molds.

Bluestar focuses on automotive molds and components, but also serves the medical, home-appliance and gardening markets.

The expansion will have 150 workers, including 19 R&D staff, who will focus on automotive molds and components. Bluestar currently has about 750 employees, of whom nearly 100 specialize in mold design.

"We want to provide a one-stop mold and plastics service for our customers, especially in the automotive sector," said Marketing Executive Bui Van Huy.

Last year's sales reached $70 million, of which 65 percent came from making molds. The remaining 35 percent came from its injection molding services. Bluestar has 43 injection-molding machines, ranging in size from 55 to 2000 tons, dedicated to manufacturing.

Key customers include Renault, Nissan and Toyota, the company said.

Bluestar was founded in Hong Kong in 1992 and began production in Shenzhen in that year.

  Bluestar Mould Group’s second plant