German company increases investment in Chinese market

The Huzhou manufacturing base of Scherdel in Zhejiang province [Photo/Qianjiang Evening News]

In 2015, Scherdel, a German-based worldwide leader in the field of technical springs, opened its manufacturing base in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province.

Three years on, the company has made two additional investments in Huzhou within a short period. According to the development plan of the company, the floor area of its Huzhou base is expected to double to 12,000 square meters by 2019.

"It is obvious that we have placed a great emphasis on the Chinese market. We have 42 manufacturing bases in 11 countries around the world, but it's not common to see so many additional heavy investments within a short run," said Saskia Metz, general manager of Scherdel in Huzhou.

Three senior executives of Scherdel Precision Parts Huzhou Co., Ltd pose for a group photo. [Photo/Qianjiang Evening News]

As early as in 2012 when Scherdel turned to the Chinese market, the German company inspected several sites across the country. Finally, it chose Huzhou to accommodate the production base of precision parts.

One of the most important factors in producing high-quality products lies in its people, said Metz, who noted that there's one common thing about her Chinese colleagues-flexibility.

"A German company values rigorous and pragmatic spirit towards work while Chinese staff are more flexible and have a strong ability in learning. Only when the two are combined with each other can we reach our goal," she said.

Talking about further investment plans, she said the company has a long-term development plan in China and intends to build the Huzhou base into a long-term base for the company.

"Though Huzhou does not rank among the first-tier cities in China, we have introduced over 23 Fortune 500 companies including IBM, Walmart and General Electric," said a local official, adding that a total of 2,219 foreign-funded enterprises have settled in the city over the past decade, with foreign investment reaching $31.79 billion.

He noted that aside from the increased foreign investment, Huzhou has also witnessed a transformation in industrial structures, turning itself from a city with low added-value industries into one of those dominated by high-end industries, such as new energy, information technology and tourism.

From January to September this year, Huzhou attracted 97 foreign-invested companies with a total investment of $2.58 billion.