Continental Structural Plastics (CSP) of Auburn Hills, Mich. is setting up a foothold in China by establishing a 50:50 joint venture, aiming to provide light-weighting solutions to automotive, heavy truck and agriculture OEMs in that country.
The new entity, CSP Victall (Tangshan) Structural Composites Co. Ltd., was formed between CSP and Qingdao Victall Railway (Group) Co. Ltd. at a formal signing ceremony on Oct. 27 in Tangshan, Hebei province.
Under the terms of the agreement, CSP Victall will begin manufacturing by third quarter of 2015.
In a 322,000-square-foot (30,000 square meter) new manufacturing facility in Tangshan, the JV will make composite components for the automotive, heavy truck and bus, construction and agriculture markets in China. It will also compound and sell sheet molded compound (SMC) raw materials.
The facility will be equipped with 4,000- and 3,000-ton presses, a direct long fiber thermoplastic (D-LFT) line, an SMC compounding line, a paint line, and robotic routers. It will also feature the latest in dust control technology, including a centralized vacuum system and dust booths.
With the Chinese market on pace to produce nearly 20 million light vehicles and 1.5 million Class 7 and 8 heavy-duty trucks this year, there is a growing focus on reducing carbon emissions, CSP said in a news release.
The Chinese government has set forth a number of aggressive plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 45 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, and an initiative mandating that at least 30 percent of new government vehicles be powered by alternative energy by 2016, CSP added.
“Our new operations in China will enable us to provide lightweight composite technologies designed to meet the needs of both the domestic and global OEMs in this very important market,” said Frank Macher, chairman and CEO of CSP.
Sun Hanben, board chairman of Qingdao Victall Railway, added, “Combining their innovation and technology with our existing customer relationships and deep local market expertise will make CSP Victall a leading supplier of lightweight technologies to Chinese OEMs.”
CSP supplies TCA Lite and TCA Ultra Lite Class A materials for body panels, structural components and electric vehicle battery box technologies; as well as lightweight front end applications for heavy duty trucks.
Qingdao Victall Railway is a leading Chinese manufacturer of modular products and parts for high speed trains, intercity trains and other transportation equipment.