The Wilo Group will invest in a new high-tech factory in Changzhou. The hybrid signature Ceremony on 15th December marked the official start of this important milestone in Wilo history.
More than 50 high-ranking guests from China and Germany came together on-site and digitally with the Company’s Top Management to celebrate.
Dignitaries in Attendance
High-ranking representatives from the People's Republic of China attended on-site like the Deputy Director of The Foreign Affairs Office of Jiangsu Province Mr. Yang Jing, Changzhou Municipal Party Committee Secretary, the Director of The Standing Committee Mr. Qi Jiabin, Member of the Standing Committee of Changzhou Municipal Party Committee, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of High-tech Zone, Secretary of the New North District Party Committee Mr. Zhou Bin, the President of the China-Germany Friendship Association and former Chinese Ambassador to Germany Mr. Shi Mingde as well as the General Manager of German Overseas Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai Mr. Jan Jovy.
In honor of this ceremony also high-ranking politicians from the Federal Republic of Germany felicitated on the ceremony via a greeting video, like the Federal Minister of Germany Mr. Peter Altmaier, and the State Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia Prof. Andreas Pinkwart.
The largest free trade agreement
The RCEP, with its 2.2 billion inhabitants, can become an economic powerhouse generating 30% of the global output
At the beginning of the event Oliver Hermes, Shareholder and President and CEO of the Wilo Group, congratulated China for concluding the largest free trade agreement in the world the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with 14 Asia-Pacific countries.
“The RCEP, with its 2.2 billion inhabitants, can become an economic powerhouse that generates almost 30 percent of the global economic output. We at Wilo are convinced that this agreement should serve as a great example to continents like Europe,” says Oliver Hermes.
Globalization 2.0
The Corona pandemic has recently boosted protectionist tendencies and a stronger regionalization which are factors that needed to be considered by companies for their internationalization strategy.
“The Wilo Group is well prepared for this so-called ‘Globalization 2.0.’ with its region-for-region approach. Taking these geopolitical conditions and our successful track record in China so far into consideration it is definitely the right decision to invest in our new high-tech factory in Changzhou,” explains Oliver Hermes.
Partnership & Commitment
“We are very pleased to have found the city of Changzhou as a reliable partner for our intensified commitment in the Asian region. This will allow us to act even more regionally in favor of our clients. It will lead to even more resilience and stability and giving us the possibility to be even closer to our partners and customers in the future,” says Georg Weber, Member of the Executive Board and CTO of the Wilo Group.
“The new project will enlarge Changzhou's influence in the field of intelligent manufacturing, further attract more global enterprises, promote Changzhou to industrial comparative advantages, deeply integrate into the international economic cycle, and build into a high-quality industrial city,” expressed by Mr. Zhou Bin, Secretary of the New North District Party Committee.
Building up the facility
“We have chosen the city of Changzhou to build up our facility, as major parts of our OEM customers are located in the East & South of China,” marks Lyman Tu, Managing Director of Wilo China.
North Rhine-Westphalia, where the WILO Group is headquartered, is the sister province of Jiangsu Province. The two sides have established friendly relations for 32 years, and the new project to be settled in Changzhou will become a new model of cooperation between Jiangsu province and the state of North Westphalia.