Partner country China is the key market for ContiTech
April 24.04.2012, 2012 Hanover - ContiTech's Changshu site: For XNUMX, ContiTech Vibration Control is planning to build a development center with its own laboratory.
China is the partner country of this year's Hannover Messe - ContiTech has been writing a success story there for over 30 years. Today the technology leader supplies its local and international customers from ten modern production facilities. These include leading companies in the automotive industry, mechanical and plant engineering, mining, the printing industry and the rail transport industry.
The company, which has its Chinese headquarters in Shanghai, has around 2.200 employees and produces locally components and systems such as hose lines, vibration elements, air springs, surface materials, conveyor belts, drive belts and technical fabrics. In 2011, ContiTech generated sales of 220 million euros in China - almost half of all sales in Asia.
For ContiTech, China is one of the most important future markets: "We offer high-tech products made of rubber and plastic that support our Chinese industrial partners in solving questions relating to mobility, energy generation, energy efficiency and environmental protection," says Junsheng Liu, General Manager of ContiTech in China. “Our customers benefit from our local production and our on-site sales and service facilities. A particular competitive advantage is that our Chinese plants guarantee the same high and reliable quality as our European plants. "
Expansion of local skills
The great dynamism of the market also means that ContiTech has increasingly set up research and development departments in China in recent years. The aim is to satisfy the needs of Chinese customers even more individually and - which is important for this market - above all quickly. In 2011, ContiTech Vibration Control set up a ten-person R&D team at the Changshu site. At the beginning of May this year, the construction of our own almost 2.000 square meter R&D center will begin on the factory premises, which will be inaugurated in autumn 2012.
ContiTech is increasingly relying on Chinese specialists and managers. This simplifies further integration into the country and the market and binds good and qualified employees. Because these are the central factor for the long-term success of ContiTech. China is not an easy job market - it is characterized by high fluctuation and competition for the best employees. "For us, sustainable measures in recruiting and long-term employee loyalty are elementary," says Junsheng Liu. In order to bind employees to the company, ContiTech creates the best possible personal living and working environment - with success: ContiTech is regarded as a safe and innovative employer with a good reputation and a high level of competence.
The activities of the seven business units at a glance
All seven business units of ContiTech are continuously expanding their presence in the Chinese market:
Air Spring Systems: Air springs for trains and commercial vehicles
Investments in the rail sector and China's leading position in the world market in the production of commercial vehicles offer great opportunities for ContiTech Air Spring Systems. At the Changshu location, the company manufactures air springs for commercial vehicles and state-of-the-art air suspension systems for rail vehicles - and invests heavily.
2011 was set up for just under 1 million euros a new production for hose bladders for cabin cabin storage and the driver's seat. In addition, other systems for the production of commercial vehicle air springs and the installation of rail vehicle systems were installed. Further investments are already underway. The air suspension systems are among others in the high-speed train CRH 3 and in the trains of the Shanghai Metro on board. In the commercial vehicle sector, leading companies such as Zhengzhou Yutong Bus, Sinotruck or Dong Feng Lear rely on the company's technological expertise.
Benecke-Kaliko: Environmentally friendly surface materials
Chinese car manufacturers are increasingly placing emphasis on skin and environmentally friendly interior materials. Therefore, the ContiTech business unit Benecke-Kaliko also produces the Oeko-Tex-certified cover material Acella® Eco Green since 2011 at the location of its joint venture Benecke Changshun Auto Trim (Zhangjiagang) Co., Ltd. In response to strong demand for its products, the company has also strengthened its local sales team and opened a new sales office in Changchun, some 2.000 km north of the Zhangjiagang plant. Customers in China include Yanfeng Visteon, FAW Volkswagen Automotive, Shanghai General Motors, Dong Feng Peugeot Citroën Automobiles, Ford, Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, Fiat and Johnson Controls. Benecke-Kaliko will invest in a TPO extruder in Zhangjiagang later this year, so that the plant has the same product portfolio as the plants in Germany.
Conveyor Belt Group: Conveyor belt business expanded
With the takeover of the conveyor belt business of Tianjin Xinbinhai Conveyor Belt Co., Ltd., Tianjin, the ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group further strengthened its commitment to the Chinese market last year and now also produces conveyor belts for industrial applications locally. The Tianjin site, which mainly produces for the metal and cement industry, power plants and port facilities, is to be expanded further in 2012. The company manufactures conveyor belts for use in mining at its plant in Changzhi - and benefits from its presence in the world's largest market for the mining industry. Special conveyor belts are also assembled in Shanghai.
Elastomer Coatings: Comprehensive expertise in offset printing
The economic development of the Chinese printing industry opens up major opportunities for ContiTech's Elastomer Coatings business: At the Shanghai Service Center, CONTI-AIR® printing blankets are cut to size and prepared for use in printing presses. For the coming years, the company expects strong growth due to the increasing environmental demands of its customers: ContiTech is the first manufacturer to offer climate-neutral blankets, thus contributing to CO2 reduction.
Fluid Technology: Know-how for hose components and pipe systems
ContiTech Fluid Technology has three locations in China. The business area supplies all connection elements through which media such as fuel, coolant, oil or air flow - from hose components to complex piping systems. In Changchun, the largest location, lines for turbocharger lubrication, turbocharger cooling and transmission oil cooling have also been manufactured since 2011. The existing know-how is thus made available for the rising turbocharger business with local original equipment manufacturers. A production facility for air conditioning lines has been added to the range at the Shanghai location since last year, and the line business for the truck sector is being expanded there. At the Changshu site, which opened in 2010, the company also produces charge air hoses as well as cooling water and heating hoses for the automotive industry. The company's customers in China include Great Wall Motor Company Limited, Beijing Automotive Group, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, Beijing Benz Automotive, Dongfeng Motor, Shanghai Volkswagen, Fujian-Daimler, FAW-VW, FAW Car, BMW and Linde, Jungheinrich and Atlas Copco.
Power Transmission Group: Drive belts for automobiles and industry
The ContiTech Power Transmission Group is strongly expanding its Chinese production of drive belts for the automotive and other industries. Since 2011, in addition to timing belts for original automotive equipment, the Ninghai division has also been manufacturing V-ribbed belts and open-edged V-belts for automotive and industrial applications. By setting up another production line for V-ribbed belts manufactured using the molding process in 2012, the company aims to become even more powerful in the market. Then elastic V-ribbed belts can also be produced locally. These belts make conventional tensioning systems superfluous and support lightweight automotive construction - and are therefore increasingly in demand. Customers include all well-known automobile manufacturers in China.
Vibration Control: engine mounts for more driving comfort - and less weight
Tailor-made innovations for the Chinese automotive industry: 2011 has begun to set up its own development team at its Changshu site, ContiTech Vibration Control. 2012 plans to build a development center with its own laboratory. The first test machines and laboratory assembly systems have already been purchased for this purpose. For customers such as General Motors, Shanghai General Motors and General Motors Korea, the business unit manufactures plastic components in addition to conventional engine mounts made of rubber-metal elements and hydraulic engine mounts and bushings. The lighter material reduces the overall weight of the vehicle and thus the fuel consumption. The latest trends in lightweight construction include engine mounts made of glass fiber reinforced polyamide. Here, the company expects great growth opportunities in the Chinese market as well.
