Trelleborg’s Marine and Infrastructure operations is to locally produce its Gina Gaskets – vital components of construction – for various Chinese landmark projects including the ShenZhong Link project in Guangdong Province, touted to be the largest and widest immersed tunnel in the world. The supply agreement follows a contract with China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and Guangzhou Salvage, which will see Trelleborg’s facilities in Ridderkerk, the Netherlands, and Qingdao, Shandong Province, following an expansion of its manufacturing capacity, take up production of the gaskets.
According to Trelleborg, the Gina Gaskets will be used between the sectional elements of the ShenZhong tunnel to prevent water ingress due to external water pressure, geological sedimentation and structure displacement.
While Trelleborg’s Ridderkerk premises has been designing and supplying sealing systems to projects across the globe, the company’s Qingdao facility will predominantly service the Chinese market, with Ridderkerk continuing to supply to other parts of the world.
Richard Hepworth, President of Trelleborg’s Marine and Infrastructure operations, said expanding production capacity in Qingdao was “imperative for China’s high-stakes projects” as the country sees some of the most complex infrastructure demands of modern time.
“Our Gina Gaskets have been designed and engineered at our Ridderkerk facility; now with the capability to produce these solutions in Qingdao, water management projects across China can benefit from our long-standing Dutch heritage, unrivaled knowledge and engineering expertise,” added Hepworth.
Trelleborg Qingdao’s new manufacturing line will be officially launched on December 14th, 2019; the launch will also mark production of the facility’s first-ever Gina Gasket for the Chinese market.