GEA Westfalia Separator Group Plans New Production Plant in China

In response to the increasing globalisation of its sales markets, GEA Westfalia Separator Group (Germany) is planning to build a separator production plant in the city of Wuqing / China. "The city is located to the southeast of Beijing in the administrative region of Tianjin. The location offers a perfect infrastructure and well trained workers. We have also already found several additional leading mechanical engineers in the region, indicating that Tianjin has a positive investment climate", states Markus Hüllmann, responsible CEO at GEA Mechanical Equipment GmbH, the holding organisation of GEA Westfalia Separator Group.

A contract has been signed for the land usage rights and production is planned to start in 2011. "We initially signed a usage agreement with the Chinese authorities for 80,000m², but were able to negotiate an additional option for a further 80,000m²", explained Bernd Huber, member of the management team at GEA Westfalia Separator Group and responsible for the global production activities of the company.

Global production activities form part of the company’s production strategy with the goal of reducing process and production costs, minimizing procurement times within the "supply chain" and achieving market proximity to major international partners. Production in Wuqing will therefore focus mainly on products which are in demand in the Asian markets. "The implementation of this project will create the perfect basis for the future sustainability of our company", added Jürg Oleas, Chairman of the Executive Board of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft.