The Schuler Group has sold its engineering center in Tianjin, northern China, to the Swiss company Feintool. In Tianjin, Feintool takes over about 30 employees, the infrastructure of the plant as well as existing customer orders.
Headquartered in Lyss, the company will produce presses of Schuler precision components for the automotive industry in Tianjin. Schuler says it is expanding its market position in China as a leading manufacturer of systems for forming technology.
The final execution of the purchase contract (closing) is expected at the end of March 2017. Feintool intends to expand the production capacities in Tianjin in the further course of the year using Schuler technology.
"Our engineering centre in Tianjin has been well received by the market since its launch in 2014," said Schuler CEO Stefan Klebert. "In particular, the interest on the spot to commission Schuler to produce components for automobile production in China increased significantly in 2016. We have achieved our strategic goal of inspiring customers in China to use Schuler technology. However, unlike machine and plant construction, the production of vehicle components is not our core business, which is why we are pleased to have found Feintool as a powerful buyer, which will now lead this task to a new scale. "
Feintool's managing director, Alexander von Witzleben, said Feintool's investment in China meets its customers' needs for global presence and worldwide expertise. "We can close a strategic gap in Asia," he said.