Railway industry in China: Liebherr expands its own market access

Liebherr-Transportation Systems GmbH & Co. KG and Zhejiang Zongche Railway Vehicles Equipment Co., Ltd. have signed an agreement to transfer all shares from Liebherr to Zhejiang Zongche Railway Vehicles Equipment Co., Ltd. Both shareholders of the Joint Venture have jointly decided on this change of ownership. The aim is to enable each one of them to serve customers in the best possible way.

Liebherr has set up a fully owned enterprise, Liebherr Transportation Systems (China) Co., Ltd. in Pinghu in the Zhejiang province. The company has already established its own access to the market. The restructuring process will enhance this direct access further. It will allow Liebherr to provide even more advanced technologies to meet the expectations of the local business community, the authorities as well as the rules and regulations in the People’s Republic of China.

Expertise in HVAC production for rail vehicles

The handover process will be completed by the end of the year. As an outcome of this process, Liebherr Transportation Systems (China) will be the only company offering Liebherr HVAC systems and hydraulic actuation systems in China. With its new 11,000 m² site and its production capacity of 5,000 units per annum, the company is capable to provide Liebherr quality products and innovations for the rail vehicle industry. It can cater both the Chinese and the global market with its broad local and global technical competences, state-of-the-art production and engineering facilities.

With its quality products, Liebherr Transportation Systems (China) is fully committed to the success of the local railway industry in China. The Liebherr portfolio includes alternative cooling methods like air cycle or CO2 based HVAC units. For hydraulic product solutions, the company offers anti-kink devices, axle steering devices or semi-active yaw dampers as well as other electro-hydraulic actuators.

Opportunities for customers and employees

As a commitment to its workforce, Liebherr is offering the employees of the former Joint Venture the opportunity to join Liebherr Transportation Systems (China) in Pinghu in a comparable position. The transition should not only be as smooth as possible for the staff, but also for Liebherr’s partners.

Liebherr will provide all existing customers with the services and support to assure the best quality for the currently installed and running Liebherr products, as well as those products used in future opportunities. Furthermore, Liebherr will support on technical issues if those arise or have been unsolved so far.

“I would like to congratulate our negotiating management team and our former partners for finding a final conclusion for our longtime successful joint undertaking. Over the last years, we have had many friendly discussions with our Joint Venture partner. We all agreed that now is the right time for each partner to go their own way,” says Dr. Adrian Gunis, Managing Director at Liebherr-Transportation Systems GmbH & Co. KG and member of the Board of Liebherr Transportation Systems (China) Co., Ltd. as well as Zhejiang Liebherr Zhongche Transportation Systems Co., Ltd. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement that will allow us to fulfill existing liabilities to our former and future customers. Liebherr has been a reliable partner in China for more than 40 years. We are looking forward to further accompanying the local industry successfully through the ongoing market consolidation phase,” stresses Gunis.