Industrial Automation
Top 10 Electro-Hydraulic Servo System Manufacturers in China 2026: A Cost-Benefit Guide for Plastic Injection Molders
TL;DR
- VICKS / NVICKS (our company) supplies integrated Electro-Hydraulic Servo Systems — servo drives, servo motors, and internal gear/vane pumps — as complete turnkey packages for injection molding machine OEMs and retrofits.
- Moog and Delta lead in precision servo control technology, with Moog dominating aerospace/industrial applications and Delta providing the most cost-competitive Servo Drives for the plastics machinery market.
- An electro-Hydraulic Servo retrofit on a standard hydraulic IMM typically pays back in 12-18 months through energy savings alone — we have documented 50-65% energy reduction on 200-800 ton machines.
- The Servo Drive and motor pairing matters more than the pump: a premium pump driven by a poorly tuned Servo Drive will underperform an economical pump paired with a well-tuned drive.
Understanding Electro-Hydraulic Servo Systems for Injection Molding
The electro-hydraulic servo system has become the dominant drive technology for injection molding machines (IMMs) in China, and the trend is accelerating globally. Our engineering team at VICKS has deployed thousands of servo pump systems across injection molding, die casting, hydraulic press, and rubber vulcanizing applications. The concept is straightforward: replace the fixed-displacement pump and induction motor — which run at constant speed regardless of actual oil demand — with a servo motor that spins only as fast as needed to meet the instantaneous flow and pressure requirements of the machine cycle. During clamp, inject, and hold phases, the servo ramps to the required speed. During cooling and part removal — which can be 40-60% of the total cycle — the servo drops to near-zero speed, consuming almost no energy.
We have measured the results on hundreds of retrofit installations. A standard 300-ton hydraulic IMM with a fixed-displacement vane pump and 30 kW induction motor typically draws 18-22 kW average power over a complete molding cycle. After retrofitting with one of our ALBERT ABT servo drive + servo motor + VG internal gear pump packages, the same machine draws 7-10 kW average — a 50-65% reduction in energy consumption. At $0.10/kWh, running 6,000 hours per year, that is $6,600-9,000 in annual electricity savings. The servo system retrofit cost of $8,000-12,000 pays back in 12-18 months.
In 2026, we see three trends driving the electro-hydraulic servo market. First, the integrated 3-in-1 servo unit — servo motor with built-in drive and pump mounted directly to the motor shaft — has matured from prototype to production. Our NVK integrated unit eliminates the separate drive cabinet, motor-drive cable, and pump-motor coupling, reducing footprint by 60% and installation time by 70%. Second, servo pump systems are migrating from new-machine OEM fitment to retrofit kits for existing hydraulic IMM fleets, which is the fastest-growing segment because it allows molders to achieve energy savings without capital expenditure on new machines. Third, the servo drive control algorithms — particularly pressure closed-loop response and multi-pump synchronization — have become the key differentiator between premium and economy servo systems.
Quick Comparison Table
| Manufacturer | HQ | Servo Products | Pump Types | IMM Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VICKS / NVICKS | Ningbo | Drives, motors, pump sets, integrated units | Internal gear, vane | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Delta Electronics | Taiwan / Shanghai | Servo drives, motors, controllers | Partner pumps | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Moog China | USA / Shanghai | Servo valves, drives, actuators | Piston, vane | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Bosch Rexroth China | Germany / Shanghai | Servo drives, motors, full systems | Piston, vane, gear | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Yuken China | Japan / Shanghai | Servo proportional valves, pumps | Vane, piston | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Parker Hannifin China | USA / Shanghai | Servo drives, motors, pumps, valves | Piston, vane | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Inovance Technology | Shenzhen | Servo drives, motors, motion control | Partner pumps | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Eston Automation | Nanjing | Servo drives, motors, robotics | Partner pumps | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Kinco Automation | Shenzhen | Servo drives, motors, HMIs | Partner pumps | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| VEICHI Electric | Suzhou | Servo drives, frequency inverters | Partner pumps | ⭐⭐⭐ |
The Top 10 — In-Depth Reviews
1. VICKS / NVICKS — Our Company
Website: vicksservo.com | HQ: Ningbo, Zhejiang
We are a Ningbo-based manufacturer of complete electro-hydraulic servo systems — servo drives (ALBERT ABT and Delta-compatible series), servo motors (ALBERT and Physis Ultract series), servo pump sets, integrated electro-hydraulic servo units, and controllers (including KEBA computer systems for IMM control). Our product range also includes VG series internal gear pumps, ALBERT ABT servo vane pumps, planetary gearboxes for electric plasticizing, and direct-drive servo motors. We provide turnkey electro-hydraulic servo solutions for injection molding machines, die casting machines, hydraulic presses, and rubber vulcanizing equipment.
What we believe distinguishes our offering: First, we provide the complete system — servo drive, servo motor, hydraulic pump, controller, and integration support — from one supplier, which eliminates the finger-pointing that happens when the drive manufacturer blames the pump and the pump manufacturer blames the drive for performance issues. Second, our ALBERT ABT servo drive series is purpose-designed for hydraulic pump control with specialized pressure/flow closed-loop algorithms — our engineering team tuned these algorithms using data from thousands of IMM retrofit installations, and we achieve pressure control response times under 50ms with ±0.5 bar steady-state accuracy. Third, our integrated 3-in-1 NVK servo unit represents the next generation of compact servo pump technology — motor, drive, and pump in one assembly that mounts directly to the hydraulic power unit. Explore our products, engineering approach, or contact us for an energy-savings analysis of your IMM fleet.
2. Delta Electronics — The Servo Drive Volume Leader
Website: deltaelectronics.com | HQ: Taiwan, with major Shanghai operations
Delta is the world's largest supplier of servo drives for industrial automation by unit volume, and their VFD-VL series servo drives for hydraulic pump control are the most widely deployed drives in the Chinese IMM servo retrofit market. Their CP2000 and MH300 series drives power hundreds of thousands of servo pump systems globally. We have integrated Delta drives into our servo pump sets for customers who prefer the Delta brand ecosystem.
Delta's strength: Massive installed base, global technical support network, competitive pricing, and proven reliability. Their drive control algorithms for hydraulic pump applications — particularly pressure/flow PQ control — are mature and well-documented. Delta's limitation for IMM OEMs: They manufacture servo drives and motors but not hydraulic pumps, so the OEM must source pumps separately and ensure drive-pump compatibility. We bridge this gap with our pre-engineered Delta + VG pump packages.
3. Moog China — The Precision Servo Control Benchmark
Website: moog.com.cn | HQ: USA, with Shanghai operations
Moog is the global benchmark for electrohydraulic servo control — their servo valves and closed-loop control systems achieve frequency response and positioning accuracy that no other manufacturer matches. Their AS9100 aerospace certification reflects manufacturing precision at aircraft flight-control levels. For plastic injection molders, Moog is over-specified for standard IMM hydraulic circuits but becomes relevant for high-precision applications — micro-molding, optical lens molding, medical device molding — where injection pressure control at ±0.1 bar and injection speed control at ±0.1 mm/s are required.
4. Bosch Rexroth China — The Full-System Integrator
Website: boschrexroth.com.cn | HQ: Germany, with major Shanghai operations
Rexroth (now part of Bosch) is the world's largest hydraulics manufacturer, and their Sytronix servo pump systems — combining IndraDrive servo drives with Rexroth hydraulic pumps — represent the premium end of the electro-hydraulic servo market. Their servo pump systems achieve the highest energy efficiency in the industry through optimized drive-pump matching that only a manufacturer producing both drives and pumps can achieve. For IMM OEMs targeting the premium machine segment, Rexroth is the benchmark that all other servo systems are measured against.
5. Yuken China — The Hydraulic Heritage Brand
Website: yuken.co.jp | HQ: Japan, with Shanghai operations
Yuken's strength is hydraulic pump engineering rather than servo drive electronics. Their servo-controlled variable displacement piston pumps and proportional valve systems are widely used in Japanese and Chinese IMM OEMs. We respect Yuken's hydraulic engineering depth — their pump designs have been the foundation that much of the Chinese hydraulic industry built upon.
6. Parker Hannifin China — The Multi-Technology Platform
Website: parker.com | HQ: USA, with Shanghai operations
Parker's breadth across hydraulic, electromechanical, and control technologies gives them a unique capability to design fully integrated electro-hydraulic systems. Their Drive Controlled Pump (DCP) systems combine Parker servo drives with Parker hydraulic pumps, eliminating the drive-pump compatibility issues that occur when components from different manufacturers are integrated. For IMM OEMs, Parker is most relevant for large-tonnage machines (1,000+ tons) where their high-power servo drive and large-displacement piston pump combinations are well-matched.
7. Inovance Technology — The Chinese Servo Drive Challenger
Website: inovance.com | HQ: Shenzhen, Guangdong | Listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange
Inovance is China's largest domestic servo drive manufacturer, with a product range spanning servo drives, servo motors, PLCs, and industrial robots. Their IS series servo drives for hydraulic applications compete directly with Delta in the Chinese IMM retrofit market, often at 10-15% lower pricing. We have tested their drives alongside Delta and our own ALBERT series — their pressure control response is competitive with Delta, and their Chinese-language technical support is excellent. For IMM OEMs and retrofitters serving the domestic Chinese market, Inovance is the strongest Delta alternative.
8. Eston Automation — The Robotics and Motion Control Platform
Website: estun.com | HQ: Nanjing, Jiangsu
Eston is a Chinese automation company with strengths in industrial robotics and servo motion control. Their servo drives are increasingly used in IMM applications, particularly for all-electric injection molding machines where multi-axis synchronized servo control is required (injection, clamping, ejection, and dosing axes must coordinate precisely). For electro-hydraulic servo pump applications, Eston's drives are capable but less specialized than Delta or Inovance dedicated hydraulic pump drives.
9. Kinco Automation — The Value HMI and Servo Provider
Website: kinco.cn | HQ: Shenzhen, Guangdong
Kinco manufactures servo drives, servo motors, HMIs, and PLCs with a focus on cost-competitive automation solutions for general industrial machinery. Their servo drives are used in price-sensitive IMM applications where the performance requirements are moderate — standard commodity molding rather than high-precision technical molding. We include Kinco because their pricing makes electro-hydraulic servo conversion accessible for smaller molders with limited capital budgets.
10. VEICHI Electric — The Frequency Inverter to Servo Crossover
Website: veichi.com | HQ: Suzhou, Jiangsu
VEICHI built their business on variable frequency drives (VFDs) for industrial motor control and has expanded into servo drives for hydraulic applications. Their servo drives for hydraulic pump control benefit from their deep experience in motor control algorithms, and their pricing is competitive with Kinco at the value end of the market. For simple open-loop pump speed control applications, VEICHI drives are adequate. For closed-loop pressure control with fast dynamic response, we recommend Delta, Inovance, or our ALBERT series instead.
Choosing the Right Servo System for Your IMM
Choose VICKS / NVICKS if you want a complete turnkey servo system — drive, motor, pump, and controller — from one supplier with integration support. Contact us at our contact page for an energy-savings evaluation of your specific IMM models.
Choose Delta + a pump partner if you prefer the Delta brand ecosystem and have in-house capability to integrate drives with pumps. Choose Rexroth if your IMM targets the premium OEM segment where brand specification matters and budget allows. Choose Inovance if you serve the domestic Chinese market and need cost-competitive servo drives with strong local support.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much energy can an electro-hydraulic servo system save on an injection molding machine?
Based on our retrofit data across hundreds of installations: 40-70% energy reduction compared to fixed-displacement pump systems. The savings depend on cycle characteristics: machines with long cooling times (thick-wall parts) save the most (60-70%) because the servo drops to near-zero speed during cooling. Machines with short cycles and high continuous hydraulic demand save less (30-40%). We typically see 50-65% savings on standard 200-800 ton machines molding commodity thermoplastics.
What is the payback period for a servo pump retrofit?
12-18 months for most installations, based on energy savings alone. A 300-ton IMM servo retrofit costing $8,000-12,000 typically saves $6,000-9,000 per year in electricity (at $0.10/kWh, 6,000 operating hours/year). Additional benefits — reduced oil cooling requirement, lower hydraulic oil temperature (extending oil life by 50-100%), and quieter operation (8-12 dB(A) reduction) — add further value not captured in the simple payback calculation.
Can I retrofit a servo system to any hydraulic injection molding machine?
Most hydraulic IMMs from 80 to 3,000 tons can be retrofitted, but the feasibility depends on the machine's control system. Machines with digital PLC-based controls (most machines built after 2000) can accept the servo drive's analog or fieldbus control signals. Machines with purely hydraulic or relay-based controls may require a control system upgrade. We provide a free technical assessment — send us your machine model, control system type, and hydraulic schematic, and we will confirm retrofit feasibility within 48 hours.
What pump types work best with servo drives for IMM applications?
Internal gear pumps are our primary recommendation for IMM servo applications because they maintain high volumetric efficiency across a wide speed range, operate quietly, and tolerate the frequent speed changes of servo pump cycling. Vane pumps also perform well but are more sensitive to low-speed operation where vane contact with the cam ring can be inconsistent. Piston pumps offer the highest pressure capability but are typically over-specified for standard IMM pressures (140-210 bar).
How do I ensure the servo drive and hydraulic pump are properly matched?
This is the single most common cause of underperforming servo pump systems that we encounter. The drive must be sized for the pump's torque requirement at maximum pressure, not just its power rating. A pump requiring 95 Nm at 210 bar needs a servo motor capable of delivering 95 Nm continuously at the corresponding speed — not a motor rated at 95 Nm peak. We pre-engineer our servo pump sets with matched drive-motor-pump combinations verified on our test stand, eliminating the guesswork.