DETTINGEN, GERMANY (Aug. 16, 10:30 a.m. ET) — German auto parts maker ElringKlinger AG has opened a new factory in the northern Chinese city of Changchun, where it will supply plastic housing modules and metal-elastomer gaskets.
The 130,000-square-foot facility, Changchun ElringKlinger Ltd., doubles the firm's production space in Changchun, and is in response to increased orders from local customers, the Dettingen-based company said.
Changchun is one of China's automotive centers and home to FAW Volkswagen Automotive Co. Ltd., a joint venture between China's First Auto Works, Volkswagen AG and Audi AG with capacity for up to 600,000 cars a year.
ElringKlinger said the plant also will make cylinder head and specialty gaskets. It employs about 300.
In 2009, ElringKlinger boosted its stake in the facility to 88 percent, taking an additional 10 percent ownership from the State Machinery, Electronics, Light and Textile Industry Investment Corp., a Changchun-based government investment unit.
The company's engineering plastics subsidiary, ElringKlinger Kunststofftechnik GmbH, makes polytetrafluoroethylene gaskets and components.
Changchun has attracted investment from other German plastics firms lately, with automotive parts supplier Huf Hülsbeck & Fürst GmbH & Co. KG opening an injection molding facility there in July.
