DENVER, CO and Yantai, China — Gates Corp. and Winhere Auto-Part Manufacturing Co., Ltd. have formed a joint venture to manufacture and market water pumps for worldwide automotive applications.
The new company, with a proposed name of Gates Winhere Automotive Pump Products (Yantai) Co., Ltd. will allow Gates to increase its product coverage of replacement water pumps for automotive passenger cars, lights trucks and heavy-duty vehicles. Production is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Manufacturing operations will be headquartered at an existing Winhere facility in Yantai, a coastal city in Shandong Province in northeast China. Mike Smith of Gates Corp. has been named president of the joint venture company. William Lee, Winhere’s water pump general manager, will retain his current title and responsibilities in the new company. “William has done an exceptional job of founding this business and growing this business which now has customers around the world” says Smith.
Smith added that the new company will internalize supply of an important component for existing Gates automotive customers and further enhance Gates cooling system leadership. Gates Winhere pumps are new, and meet or exceed OE quality and performance.
“The Gates Winhere state-of-the-art manufacturing facility will give our customers a product that provides worry-free vehicle operation,” said Smith.
The transaction is subject to Chinese regulatory approvals.
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