Future-Oriented Location Opened in China

March 2010On track for the future in Asia: ContiTech celebrated the opening of its new location in Changshu, China, with some 500 guests. “This is our new productive heart for our customers in China,” stressed Heinz-Gerhard Wente, CEO of ContiTech AG, in his speech. “The Changshu plant is a key milestone for our long-term activities in China.”

ContiTech AG has a new development, production, sales and administrative facility in Changshu, 100 kilometers northwest of Shanghai. For now, three business units – Air Spring Systems, Fluid Technology (hoses and hose line systems) and Vibration Control (including acoustic insulation) – have started up operations at the site. Erected at an investment cost of €40 million, the facility will produce mainly for the Chinese and other Asian markets. A further phase of production expansion and the erection of a separate rubber compounding center are planned.

Joined by Wang Xiang, secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) in Changshu, Heinz-Gerhard Wente, CEO of ContiTech AG, presided at an impressive ribbon-cutting ceremony. In his speech, Wente underscored the site’s importance for customers in China and for the company itself: “Our roots may be in Germany, but we have long since made ourselves at home here as well and see a key portion of our future viability in China.”

Becoming established as attractive employer

ContiTech presently has 1,200 employees in China, and the workforce is growing daily. The company makes a point of filling key positions with qualified Chinese applicants. It offers its employees future-proof, high-tech-oriented professional fields, with a chance to learn from one of the major technology leaders and to pursue international careers. In this connection, Wente also emphasized the intensive cooperation with the regional universities and training centers for potential staff: “Our goal is to become established as an attractive employer as well.”

Torsten Laufer, general manager of ContiTech China Rubber & Plastics Technology Ltd., pointed out the technological expertise and strength of the plant, where the Elastomer Coatings business unit will also be producing on a small scale. “Here in Changshu, we have the possibility to provide the Chinese market with exceptional production know-how, making it possible for our valued partners to enhance their competitive strength. Moreover, when planning and setting up the location, we also kept our sights on the conservation of resources and protection of the environment,” Laufer stressed.

Enormous media interest

The media was also very interested in the opening: ContiTech welcomed some 40 journalists from China and elsewhere at its press conference. The media representatives focused on the performance of ContiTech products with regards to environmental protection, as well as the company’s goals with respect to the automotive market in China. They asked about the next steps in the current successful strategy for the area of rail vehicle technology. ContiTech already controls a 50 percent market share for air spring systems in China.

In the face of a severe global economic crisis, ContiTech was able to up sales in China 34 percent in fiscal 2009. The longer-range target is to more than double current sales volume in China by 2014, boosting it from €133 million at present to approximately €300 million.