BENTELER opens 15th plant in China
Chongqing/Paderborn, November 29, 2018. On November 28th, BENTELER Automotive opened a new joint venture plant in Chongqing, China, together with Jian’An. Jian’An is a subsidiary company of ChangAn, one of the major car manufacturers in China. The management of the companies, local government, banks, customers, suppliers and employees attended the ceremony.
The 15th BENTELER plant in China launched its operation in April 2018. The production is focused on chassis components and press parts. Car manufacturers such as ChangAn, Ford and PSA benefit from BENTELER´s excellence in engineering and manufacturing. The new plant covers an area of more than 60,000 square meters, of which over two third are used for production. The total area is about the size of six soccer fields.
China is the most important growth market for the automotive sector. BENTELER is represented in all relevant provinces. Ralf Göttel, Chairman of the Executive Board BENTELER International AG, and Chief Executive Officer BENTELER Automotive, explains: “More than half of the world’s vehicle production comes from the Asia/Pacific region. By 2025, an increase of another three percent is expected. That is why we strengthen our regional presence. In most cases BENTELER is located within a radius of 30 kilometers of its customers, we even share the same address with some of them.”
Tony Shi, Executive Vice President Region Asia/Pacific, BENTELER Automotive, adds: “We know both the country and its people very well. The partnership between BENTELER and its partners is based on collaboration, trust and transparency – for more than 15 years now. Together with our global customers and the local knowledge of our joint venture partners, we develop future mobility concepts for the Chinese market – always committed to high quality”.
Currently, there are more than 300 employees working at the Chongqing plant. Chongqing is the third plant set up within the BENTELER Jian’An Automotive Joint Venture in the past two years. Plants in Shenzhen and Harbin complete the joint venture. In total, about 500 employees are currently working in the joint venture. By 2023, the number of employees will reach around 800 people.
