German multinational conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG recently announced the opening of two new manufacturing facilities in Changzhou National Hi-Tech District (CND), China, a joint venture project with Chinese auto parts manufacturer Fawer Automotive Parts Ltd. and the company’s phase 3 camshaft production facility.
The two companies said this event marks the cementing of another partnership between ThyssenKrupp and CND following the earlier establishment of ThyssenKrupp Engine Systems (Changzhou) Co. Ltd. and ThyssenKrupp Steering System (Changzhou) Co. Ltd. in the district.
Chen Min, APAC chief operating officer at ThyssenKrupp Presta Steering China, said, “We decided to select CND as the location for our two new facilities on the back of the positive experience with the group’s existing facilities in CND, two facilities that have witnessed stable and steady growth since their inception.”
Over the past few years, ThyssenKrupp has been focusing on high-tech and high value-added aspects of its auto parts and elevator businesses, as part of the multinational’s efforts to remain at the vanguard of the industrial transformation taking place in China. In response to the fast growth of the Chinese automobile market, ThyssenKrupp set up ThyssenKrupp Engine Systems (Changzhou) Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of assembled automotive camshafts, in October 2012 and increased its total investment in the subsidiary to 71 million euros (approximately $75.2 million USD) in May, 2015. The German conglomerate then set up ThyssenKrupp Steering System (Changzhou) Co. Ltd., a producer of electric power steering systems, in February 2015 and expanded the scope of the subsidiary with additional investment in September 2016.
ThyssenKrupp Engine Systems (Changzhou) will be the group’s largest camshaft manufacturing facility in Asia. ThyssenKrupp Engine Systems (Changzhou) general manager Gu Rui’an explained, “ThyssenKrupp made an additional investment in the Changzhou subsidiary not only because of the fast-growing demand from the Chinese automobile market and the increase in both customers and orders but also in view of the attractive investment environment that Changzhou offers and the company’s strong growth path.”
In October 2016, a CND economic and trade delegation led by Zhou Bin, a member of the Changzhou Municipal Party Committee and secretary of the Party Working Committee of CND, visited the headquarters of ThyssenKrupp, during which the delegation and ThyssenKrupp exchanged their opinions on several issues, including the operational status of the group’s existing facilities in CND and location selection for the group’s new facilities. ThyssenKrupp is considering the construction of an industrial park within the CND as a vehicle to group together several industrial projects, enhance managerial efficiency and reduce production costs, according to Carson Cross, CEO of ThyssenKrupp’s auto parts business unit.
