New Facility Will Serve the China Market
SUZHOU, China, June 28 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Metaldyne officially opened its plant in Suzhou, China, last week marking the first operation for the company in that country.
Metaldyne invested $10 million in the project and expects revenues of more than $100 million when the plant reaches full capacity in a few years. With Metaldyne's expected growth in China, the company will make a decision on a second plant by the end of the year, according to Metaldyne Chairman and CEO Tim Leuliette.
"We will invest $30-$50 million in China over the next five years," Leuliette said. "We see great growth opportunity here. In 2006 China represented 0 percent of our revenue. By 2012 it will represent 6-7 percent."
That growth is incremental to Metaldyne’s growth in other parts of the world.
"There is significant customer interest in Metaldyne's product localization plans in China and we already have a diverse customer base scheduled to launch soon after the plant opens," said Jim Hudak, vice president, sales and engineering - Asia. "We are in discussions with other customers in China and are selectively determining where to put our investment dollars."
Located 46 miles (75 kilometers) northwest of Shanghai, the 92,000-sq.-ft. (8547-sq.-m.) plant will manufacture crankshaft damper assemblies, knuckle and control arm assemblies, aluminum diecast valve bodies and powder metal products. Current OEM customers include Beijing Benz DaimlerChrysler, Chery, Dongfeng-Peugeot-Citroen, Shanghai General Motors and Soueast (pronounced Southeast) Motors.
The facility currently has 54 employees and is expected to grow to 97 by the end of this year. At full capacity it will employ 350-400 people.
"We are committed to establishing operations wherever our customers need us and to make certain all our facilities have access to our company's resources worldwide," said JoAnne Ryan, vice president and general manager of Metaldyne China Operation. "The Suzhou operation will coordinate its activities with other Metaldyne plant to ensure an integrated understanding of our customers' needs and demands globally."
Suzhou is currently launching several products for the China market.
-- Crankshaft dampers for the Buick Regal, GL8 and Firstland and the
Dongfeng Peugeot 307 and 206 as well as the Dongfeng Citroen
Picasso, Elysee and ZX Fukang.
-- Transmission bodies for several Chevrolet and Buick products
-- Front and rear knuckle assemblies for the Chrysler Sebring
-- Brake module assemblies and lower control arm assemblies for
Soueast Motors (pronounced Southeast)
-- Front brake corner modules and lower control arm assemblies for
the Chrysler Town and Country and Voyager.
In addition, the suspension system Suzhou provides for the Chrysler minivan is one of the first aluminum systems produced in China, which led other OEMs to pursue aluminum suspension designs with Metaldyne.
"We pride ourselves on the innovation of our employees," Leuliette said. "We know our business and financial success is driven by their collective strength, talent and knowledge ... so we empower and encourage them to bring their innovative ideas forward."
The Suzhou facility is located in The China-Singapore cooperative Suzhou Industrial Park, one of the most successful industrial parks in China.
