Röchling Automotive To Build Plant in Chengdu, China
Mannheim, Germany, April 7th, 2011... Röchling Automotive’s third production plant in China is to be built in Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan. In the second half of this year, it will begin manufacturing systems and components made from engineering plastics. Clients served from this plant will include numerous vehicle manufacturers, including FAW VW, Ford Chongqing, and Volvo.
Controllable air duct systems, an innovation in the Chinese market, are to be manufactured in a production area of 13,000 square meters, divided into four modules. According to the Managing Director of Röchling Automotive Asia, Gerhard Neidinger, the main reasons for the expansion of capacity are success with new customers worldwide and Röchling Automotive’s good reputation as an intake manifold supplier. “In terms of the new generation of products, automobile manufacturers’ focus is particularly on reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Röchling Automotive is very well positioned in this area providing intelligent solutions in the areas of air flow management, acoustics, and lightweight construction and is therefore in demand as a supplier,” Neidinger emphasizes.
For Georg Duffner, President and CEO of the Röchling Group, Chengdu offered the best location advantages from among several alternatives for Röchling Automotive as vehicle manufacturers in southwestern China can be supplied well from there. The support provided by the industrial zone of Chengdu and the well developed infrastructure were both important criteria in the selection of the location. As it has already done at other sites, Röchling will provide targeted training and apprenticeships to the employees with respect to the special requirements of the technically very demanding plastics parts.
The Röchling Group, headquartered in Mannheim, Germany, stands for competence, quality, and innovation in engineering plastics processing. With 55 locations worldwide, it generates sales of over EUR 1 billion. Including Chengdu, Röchling will in future operate five manufacturing locations in China.
