October 26, 2007 -- Georg Fischer, Europe's largest maker of automotive iron castings, will invest 50 million Swiss francs in China next year to set up three plants to meet the growing demand for its products here, the company said yesterday in Shanghai. The new plants will help the Switzerland-based company boost its China sales to about 550 million Swiss francs in three years from last year's 300 million, its president and chief executive officer, Kurt E. Stirnemann, told Shanghai Daily.
The plants will make products sold by the company's three core businesses - automotive iron castings, piping and machine tools. The factories are scheduled to go into operation in 2009. The company already has 11 plants in the country. "China will continue to play an important role in our Asia market as it already accounts for two-thirds of our revenues in the region," Stirnemann said.
The company has benefited from strong demands for its products in developing regions. It hopes to boost sales in Asia to 20 percent of the global total by 2011, up from the current 15 percent. Sales in China have maintained average growth of 30 percent over the past seven years.
Stirnemann said he hopes the company's business can take off on back of China's rapidly growing auto industry. Georg Fischer's auto business is still at an early stage in the country, although it is the firm's largest business segment globally and contributes about half of all sales.
The company began setting up manufacturing facilities in China in the 1990s and has invested roughly 150 million Swiss francs in the country so far. Its biggest business in China is its AgieCharmilles brand machine tools.
Source: Shanghai Daily
