Citic Dicastal Co., Ltd. Business Report FY ended Dec. 2020
Shareholder change
-CITIC Limited (CITIC) announced that its indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries CITIC Industrial Investment Group Corp., Ltd. (CITIC Industrial) and CITIC Industrial Investment Ningbo Co., Ltd. (Ningbo Industrial) have completed the public offering procedures at China Beijing Equity Exchange and signed an equity transfer contract with investors. CITIC Industrial, Ningbo Industrial and investors have agreed on a deal, in which CITIC Industrial and Ningbo Industrial will sell 57.89% of shares in CITIC Dicastal Co., Ltd. (CITIC Dicastal) to investors at a price of CNY 5.5 billion. After the deal is finalized, the financial results of CITIC Dicastal will no longer be included in CITIC’s consolidated financial results. (From a press release dated December 13, 2019)
Strategic cooperation
-UACJ Corporation announced recently that the company had reached an agreement with CITIC Dicastal Co., Ltd. and CITIC BOHAI Aluminum Industries Holding Company Limited, which are subsidiaries of CITIC Group Corporation, regarding a strategic partnership. The three companies will set up a new joint venture for making extruded aluminum components for automotive use. The new company named "Dicastal UACJ Bolv Automotive Parts Co., Ltd." will be established in Qinhuangdao, Hebei with a capital of CNY 100 million. 51% will be owned by CITIC BOHAI Aluminum Industries Holding Company Limited, 40% by JACJ, and 9% by CITIC Dicastal. They aim at launching the operation at the new plant in 2020 and starting production in 2021. The new facility will have the capacity to manufacture 450,000 bumpers and 70,000 onboard battery boxes. (From an article in UACJ on March 26, 2019)
R&D Structure
-The Company conducts development activities at its technical center, which was established in February 1993. The technical center has been recognized as a national R&D center by the National Development and Reform Commission since October 2005.
-The Company has established overseas R&D centers in Europe and North America and a technical center in Japan. Due to its overseas technical centers, the Company is the first wheel manufacturer which can provide synchronous development together with global automakers.
-The Company researches integrated solutions for aluminum wheels and cast components design and manufacturing at its CITIC Dicastal Engineering Technology Institute.
-In 2019, CITIC Dicastal's research and development focused on lightweight products such as aluminum subframes and new energy battery boxes. At the same time, the company is also developing new material applications, especially carbon fiber composite materials that may replace aluminum as raw materials for castings in the future.
Patents
-In December 2019, the independent innovation project "R&D and Application of Wheel and Suspension System Simulation Live Impact Test Technology" independently researched and developed by the Test Center of CITIC Dicastal Engineering Technology Research Institute was awarded the scientific and technological achievements of Hebei Province, and recognized as having a high technological level worldwide. The technology has been granted eight patents and has its own intellectual property rights.
Investment in China
-CITIC Dicastal Co., Ltd. announced that CITIC Dicastal Institute of Engineering & Technology Research, one of its subsidiaries, had passed the review of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China to be nominated as a certified national-level industrial design center. (From a release on November, 2019)
-In July 2019, the company's new aluminum casting production line in Wuxi was put into operation, with an initial annual production capacity of 3,000 tons. (From CITIC Group's 2019 annual report)
Investment outside China
-In June 2019, the first phase of the company's production base in Morocco was put into production, with an annual production capacity of 3 million aluminum wheels, and the current capacity utilization rate is close to 100%. The second phase of the project started in November 2019 and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2020, which will expand the production capacity of the Moroccan production base to 6 million aluminum wheels. This strategic move enables Dicastal to better serve customers globally including Europe, America and Africa. (From CITIC Group's 2019 annual report)