German company seeking business expansion in China

The Hangzhou production base of Elektrisola in Pingyao town of Yuhang district [Photo/Qianjiang Evening News]

Fifteen years ago, the world's leading manufacturer of enameled copper wire Elektrisola launched its first production line in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province.

Due to the brisk domestic demand, mature supporting facilities, high-quality workers and friendly business environment, Elektrisola has been deeply rooted in the city after years of development and has decided to further expand its business in China by investing $25.5 million to extend its factory which will come into service at the end of 2019.

As early as in 2003 when Elektrisola turned to the Chinese market, the German company inspected over 50 sites around the country. Finally, it chose Pingyao town of Yuhang district, Hangzhou to accommodate the production base.

Bernt Gramann, general manager of Elektrisola Hangzhou Co Ltd [Photo/Qianjiang Evening News]

"We have strict standards for site selection and should take many factors into account such as the surroundings and the supply of raw materials," said Bernt Gramann, general manager of Elektrisola Hangzhou Co Ltd.

He said they chose Pingyao because the town is suitable in every respect and the environment here is beautiful.

The Chinese base was put into use in 2005 and 10 years later, the factory area exceeded 50,000 square meters. Today, there are around 700 highly skilled workers working for Elektrisola and its products have been widely applied in a variety of fields including Chinese people's official ID cards, automobiles and home appliances. In 2017, the company's business reported a growth rate of 16 percent.

The Hangzhou branch has been stationed in Pingyao for 15 years and Gramann believes the cooperation will last longer with the support of Chinese government, "We are confident in China's economic development."

Hangzhou's Yuhang received total inward foreign investment of $803 million in the first eight months of 2018, up 19.28 year-on-year, ranking first among all districts in the city. As a core area involved in Hangzhou's blueprint for scientific and technological development, Yuhang has been focusing on the sustainable enhancement of high-end industries such as information economy, artificial intelligence and biomedicine, and has introduced 52 major projects this year.