• Around ten million euros invested in new development center in Dalian
• Strengthening of development activities for Chinese customers
• Focus on developing powertrain innovations that help reduce CO2 emissions

The industrial and technology group thyssenkrupp opened a new development center for engine components in Dalian, China. The Group will concentrate its engine component development and prototyping activities at the 2,000 square meter development center in the future. The investment volume is around ten million euros. The new development center is situated on the grounds of the existing production site in Dalian, where the company has been manufacturing assembled camshafts and cylinder head cover modules since 2005.

“With the new development center we want to serve our customers in China with even better customized and more efficient products. The needs of OEMs in China are growing steadily – especially as regards CO2 and other emission standards. We want to support them locally with customized development work,” explains Karsten Kroos, CEO of thyssenkrupp´s Components Technology division. The center in Dalian will focus on the development of innovative valve train products specifically for the Chinese market.

In recent years the Chinese market has become more and more important for the Group’s automotive activities. In the past fiscal year alone, the component division increased its sales in China by around eight percent to one billion euros. Orders from Chinese automakers are playing a key role as China continues to lead global growth in the auto industry. Some 27 million vehicles were produced in the country in 2016.

Driven by new customer orders, thyssenkrupp has invested over 300 million euros in expanding its component production network in China in the past three years. Overall, thyssenkrupp employs over 5,100 people at its automotive sites in China.

“Competition among the different powertrain systems is nowhere as dynamic as in China. Efficiency gains in the internal combustion engine are just as important as the development of improved hybrid and all-electric drives. With our products and services we support this transformation in many ways independent from the drivetrain technology,” says Kroos.

Powertrain components from thyssenkrupp such as cylinder head covers with integrated camshafts are up to 30 percent lighter than conventional products and help reduce fuel consumption and lower harmful emissions. thyssenkrupp is also a supplier of electrical steel and components, which are used in hybrid and electric drives. In addition, the Group is involved in battery manufacturing for electric vehicles and offers both manufacturing facilities and housing structures for vehicle batteries.