Vibracoustic

Darmstadt/Shanghai, 23. April 2013

TBVC’s expansion in China

TBVC expands Chinese manufacturing base in response to growing local demand.

TrelleborgVibracoustic, a lead­ing global supplier of automotive anti-vibration solutions, is strengthening its position in China, the world’s largest single automotive market. TrelleborgVibracoustic cur­rently operates two Chinese manufacturing units in Wuxi and Yantai. The continued success of both plants and a rapid growth in sales has lead to a de­cision to double production capacity in Yantai, Shandong province.

The Yantai plant was launched in 2010 and covers an area of almost 8,500 square me­tres. Initially developed to supply air springs and suspension components for the com­mercial vehicle market, the plant now produces passenger car bushings and has recently installed a new production line to manufacture torsional vibration dampers for the Asia Pacific region.

In line with constantly rising customer demand, TrelleborgVibracoustic plans to double capacity in Yantai, adding a further 8,400 square metres. Construction is scheduled to commence in the second half of the year. Investing in the existing Yantai facility will allow TrelleborgVibracoustic to quickly roll out the project. Yantai already has an established route to market, local contractors and a trained workforce in place. A quick start-up is anticipated. TrelleborgVibracoustic was established in July 2012 as the result of a major new joint venture between Trelleborg Automotive AVS and Vibracoustic, two of the world’s leading global suppliers of automotive anti-vibration solutions. Following the announce­ment of the joint venture, Wuxi and Yantai joined forces to become one of the largest suppliers of automotive AVS in the region.

TrelleborgVibracoustic has had a manufacturing presence in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, since 1996. The Wuxi facility was relocated to a green-field site in 2005, moving to a new building specifi­cally designed to house the regions Research and Development facility and to provide room for sales expansion in a market that consistently registers annual growth rates of between 8 and 14 percent. Wuxi covers an area of almost 65,000 square metres and employs close to 900 people. Substantial growth in the market and a growing local customer base means the plant is now close to maximum capacity.

“Strong growth in sales has lead to our decision to expand production capacity at the Yantai facility”, says Dr. Matthias Sckuhr, President for China and Asia Pacific. “The Wuxi facility is already running close to maximum capacity so we have little scope to increase production there. We have additional land available to us in Yantai so it makes perfect sense to expand the plant in preparation for our next phase of growth in the region. Booked sales are forecast to increase by over 40 percent next year with a similarly posi­tive outlook for 2015.”

“China is an incredibly exciting market for us and we are pleased to be an established player in the local automotive arena,” adds Sckuhr. “Wuxi will remain our principal R&D facility for Asia Pacific, and Yantai will continue to support our expansion in the region.”

Presskit

Download [ZIP]