2008
Sanden adds one more J/V in China
To Manufacture Compressor Parts for Car Air Conditioners - Expanding Automobile Equipment Business in the Chinese Market
September 29, 2008
Sanden Corporation and Shanghai Sanden Behr (a three-company joint venture company between the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, Behr GmbH & Co KG and Sanden; hereafter referred to as SSB) have established a joint venture company for producing die-cast (*) parts for compressor parts for car air conditioners in Wujiang City, Jiangsu Province.
The name of the company is Sanden (Suzhou) Precision Parts Co., Ltd, with Mikio Koisuka as its President. Sanden has a 65% capital share and SSB 35%. The sum of the investment is 3 billion yen for an area of 29,000m2 with 170 employees; operations are to begin in June 2009, and a production capacity of five million pieces will be reached by 2010.
With the Beijing Olympics having ended successfully, production of automobiles in China is expected to near the 10 million mark in 2008. Currently Sanden has two joint ventures, including SSB, in Shanghai producing compressors for car air conditioners, giving the top market share in China with approximately 50% share for car air conditioner compressors for passenger vehicles.
With the expansion of the Chinese market and increasing severe competition, automobile manufacturers require parts with high quality and low costs. The die-cast parts for compressors, which greatly affect quality and cost, will be produced at the new joint venture. By introducing Sanden’s production technology and quality control systems into this production, Sanden will build competitiveness and further corporate business operations in China.
(*) Die-cast: a casting method involving molten metal being injected into a metal mold under pressure.
