Global Fastener News

Germany’s Wurth to Build Industrial Park in North China

John Wolz

Germany-based W�rth Group signed an agreement to build an industrial park with its own power plant in China.

Reinhold W�rth signed the cooperation contract at the German Chancellery in Berlin with Chancellor Angela Merkel and members of the German cabinet and Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao present.

K�nzelsau, Germany-based W�rth will build W�rth Industrial Park in the northern China city of Shenyang where the Chinese automotive industry is developing. W�rth will begin with a Euro 23.5 (US$30m) 30 hectares. The park will open with 400 employees and eventually expand to 3,000 employees.

“The trading firm W�rth has taken another important step towards its own production. Certainly production is more capital intensive than mere trade, but W�rth will only be able to secure long-term sales markets in China for itself if it also produces in the country,” W�rth explained.

W�rth chairman Robert Friedmann emphasized that the investment in China “is not meant as a means to transfer jobs. Creating the W�rth Industrial Park rather helps to open up new markets in China and Southern/Eastern Asia in general. The planned growth of the corporate group in Germany and Europe will not be affected by it.”

Shenyang deputy mayor Qi Song said “W�rth is very welcome in Shenyang especially since this will act as a signal to other German and European companies. We are sure that both parties will profit by W�rth”s investment. Together with W�rth we are looking into a bright future.”

The Chinese market also offers W�rth expansion from its core business of assembly and fixing products. For example W�rth Solar will open a new Euro55 million (US$71.1m) solar cell production plant in North W�rtlernbergian, Germany in October.
The Shenyang business will begin with producing screws and fixing elements in 2008. Alois Wimmer, the W�rth board member in charge of screw manufacturing, declared, “Shenyang, we are coming!”

Founded in 1945, W�rth Group supplies fasteners and tools and had 2005 sales of Euro 8.4 billion (US$10.7b) Web: Wurth.com �2006 FastenerNews.com