Companies should “take advantage of their opportunity in China”

The Yangtze River Delta with the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui is 258,000 square kilometers, four times the size of Austria. Although only around 16 percent of China’s population is home to 225 million inhabitants, the region generates almost a quarter of China’s gross domestic product and is responsible for around 37 percent of foreign trade.

Shanghai is not only China’s financial center, but also internationally oriented: 290 Austrian companies have their branches in the Yangtze River Delta, and Upper Austrian companies have also discovered the future market of China. An Upper Austrian delegation, led by Economics Minister Markus Achleitner, got an idea of ​​the opportunities and achievements.

Intensive apprentice exchange

The Marchtrenker injection molding specialist starlim sterner is investing 25 million euros in a factory in Nantong that is currently being completed. There are 70 employees and the goal is 120: They are supposed to produce around two billion silicone parts a year, which are needed in industry and in the growing automotive sector. “Our customers from Asia were previously supplied from Austria. Now we can produce the regional silicone parts we need in China,” says Managing Director Thomas Bründl, who also cites the savings in logistics costs and shorter procurement times as advantages.

Miba from Laakirchen has been producing sintered parts, friction linings and coatings near Shanghai since 2007. The factory in Suzhou produces 100 plain bearings per month, for example for wind turbines – wind power is being promoted immensely in China: the wind turbines for the wind farms on the coast should be around 500 meters high.

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