During a delegation trip through Germany headed by Dr. GuoShuqing, Governor of Shandong province, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed with ContiTech regarding the construction of a new automotive hose plant in Qingdao, China.
ContiTech plans to invest more than EUR20 million (approximately RMB200 million) for the first step and to set up a greenfield with an initial floor space of approximately 15,000 sq m in the Sino-German Eco Park of Qingdao West Coast New Area, which is fully supported by the local government.
“We want to meet our customer’s needs and requirements most effectively. That’s why we consequently follow our strategic approach to further localise our global operations. With that signature, we commit to expanding production capacity in the growing market China as well as in the Asian Pacific region, in response to the increasing demand for hoses and hose lines,” stated Hans-Jürgen Duensing, member of the Continental Executive Board and ContiTech CEO.
In the next few years existing production of heating and cooling hose lines will be moved to the new location, which is located only a few kilometres away from the current site, and has a projected annual output of about 15 million low pressure pipes in its first full-capacity phase. Depending on market development the company intends to further expand the new plant in a timeframe of five years and is expected to be completed by 2020.
Currently the global technology company and industry partner ContiTech produces and sells rubber hoses and hose assemblies for the automotive industry, with more than 500 employees in downtown Qingdao, mainly for domestic car manufacturers in China and in the Asian Pacific region. Meanwhile, customers will continue to receive the same service and quality from ContiTech.
The MOU was signed by Duensingand Shiyu Zhao, CMC Director of Sino-German Eco Park of Qingdao. The signing ceremony was also attended by Dr.-Ing. Stefan Schoen, Head of Key Account Management Commercial Vehicles & Off Highway, Interior Division; Dr. Michael Ruf, Head of Commercial Vehicles and Aftermarket, Interior Division; Burkhardt Koeller, Head of Controlling Division Tires; Dr. Elmar Degenhart, Continental CEO; Dr. GuoShuqing, Governor of Shandong province; Hua Wang, General Secretary of Shandong Government; and Deping Zhang, Vice Mayor of City Qingdao.