Elastomer expert Freudenberg Group is setting up a new plant for the production of polyurethane seals in Taicang, Jiangsu province, China.
The seals will be used in hydraulic cylinders in construction and agricultural machines. In its results statement for 2011, the Weinheim-based group said this is “a very interesting market for Freudenberg which promises attractive growth rates.”
The market is especially attractive since it will attract subsidies from the Chinese government in its current five-year plan, Freudenberg said.
Last year was yet another record-breaking year for Freudenberg in China, with sales that increased to 3.67 billion yuan ($579 million), a rise of 12.5 percent compared to the previous year.
Freudenberg announced in the May 15 statement that it is also spending 36 million yuan ($5.6 million) to add a 12,000 square meter production site in at Xindu Industrial Park in Chengdu, in Sichuan province. Production of engine air intake filters and cabin air filters is expected to start beginning of 2013 at the site, in the west of China.
Freudenberg notes that automotive production in this region is expected to increase significantly in the following years, from 1.8 million units in 2011 to 3 million units in 2015, and other industries are also expanding their production plants to the central western part of China.