Shanghai GKN Drive Shaft Co., Ltd. Business Report FY2009-FY2011

Business Highlights

2011 Financial overview

- The Company announced its business results for 2011. Sales were 445 million yuan, up 15.6 percent year-on-year, while exports totaled 145.1 million yuan, up 4.2 percent year-on-year. In terms of production volumes, the company manufactured more than 10 million constant velocity joint drive shafts, which was an increase of 13.5 percent from the previous year, and 311,000 sets of hook joints, up 28.8 percent from last year. Its production volume of precision forging components reached 12.48 million units, up 6.2 percent year-on-year. (From a press release, January 13, 2012)

- GKN Driveline announced that its production capacity for CVJ (constant velocity joint) systems and AWD (all-wheel-drive) systems in China also will grow by more than 50 percent in the next four years. The company's propshafts for AWD vehicles is expected to nearly double from 400,000 in 2010 to 800,000 in 2014. GKN Driveline currently has more than 36 electric and hybrid-electric vehicle projects underway with major automakers around the world, including several programmes for manufacturers in China. GKN Driveline is developing electric-drive transmissions (eTransmissions) for several electric-car programmes scheduled for production in Asia and North America. Assembly of GKN Driveline's eTransmissions in China is expected to begin in 2012. Over the next five years GKN Driveline will be investing 80 million Chinese yuan (approximately 8.7 million euros) to expand its research and development centre in Shanghai. (From a press release on April 18, 2011)

Production 

- The Company will increase its annual production capacity of differentials at GKN Driveline Torque Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. to more than 600,000 later in 2010 and will launch power take-off units (PTU) for AWD vehicles in July 2010. GKN Driveline also announced the expansion plan of GKN's Shanghai Technical Center, where a new line of driveline systems are being designed for small cars built by domestic automakers for sale in China. (From a press release on April 28, 2010)

- GKN will construct a new plant in Changchun City, China. This plant will become the company's 12th production facility in China. Plant construction has commenced at the end June, with the plant's operations scheduled to begin in 2011. The plant's premises will be built on 14,556 square meters of land in the first phase, but this will later be expanded to 23,477 square meters in the future. The Changchun Plant will produce constant-velocity joint drive shafts at a pace of 1 million units per year initially, but this number will be increased to 3 million units in the future.(From a press release, in April and June 2010)

- GKN Driveline Torque Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., an affiliate of  the Company has started to mass-produce power transfer units for all-wheel-drive SUVs. (From a press release, March 23, 2011)

- On October 31, 2011, the Shanghai Shenjiang Plant of the Company held a ceremony to celebrate the operation launch of its third precision forging line. The expansion has increased the company’s annual production capacity for forged products to 17 million units. (From a press release, January 4, 2012)

- The Company held a ceremony at its Shanghai Kangqiao Plant to celebrate production of 10 millionth drive shaft for constant velocity joints during 2011 on December 21, 2011. The company has been producing drive shafts for constant velocity joints in Shanghai, Changchun, Chongqing and Wuhan. It is working on further increasing its production capacity to meet rapidly growing demand in the Chinese automotive market. (From a press release, January 4, 2012) 

- The Wuhan Plant of Shanghai GKN Drive Shaft Co., Ltd. produced its 1 millionth drive shaft for constant-velocity joints on November 26, 2011. The facility, which started operations in 2009, has recently increased its yearly production capacity to 1 million units. (From a press release, January 4, 2012) 

- The Wuhan Plant of Shanghai GKN Drive Shaft Co., Ltd. acquired the ISO14001:2004 environmental management system in January 2012 and the ISO/TS16949:2009 automotive quality management system in February 2012. The company’s Changchun Plant also received the ISO/TS16949 certification in February 2012. (From a press release, March 8, 2012)

- The Company will establish a second plant in Wuhan. The new facility will be built on approximately 80,000 square meters of land. Construction will be carried out in two phases. The company will invest 230 million yuan in the first phase of the project to construct a 2,000-ton class precision forging line, which will be capable of producing 5.5 million units a year. This production line is scheduled to be completed at the end of December 2012. The plant will eventually have four precision forging lines, functioning as the second largest supply hub for constant velocity 1036joint drive shafts in the Wuhan area. The plant will also supply precision forging products to other plants of the company. (From a press release, March 8, 2012)

Award

- The Company was awarded the Excellent Service Award from Shanghai GM at the suppliers’ meeting held by the automaker on February 2, 2012. It also received the Outstanding Performance Award for 2011 from SAIC Motor at the automaker’s annual meeting, while the company’s president, Xue Jinda, was also recognized for his innovative leadership. (From a press release, February 8, 2012)

Certificate

- The Wuhan Plant of Shanghai GKN Drive Shaft Co., Ltd. acquired the ISO14001:2004 environmental management system in January 2012 and the ISO/TS16949:2009 automotive quality management system in February 2012. The company’s Changchun Plant also received the ISO/TS16949 certification in February 2012. (From a press release, March 8, 2012)  

R&D

R&D System

- The Company has an Engineering Center in its Shanghai plant, where it conducts R&D and product inspection. 

- GKN is going to expand its Shanghai Technical Center and launch new, more cost-efficient hybrid technology in the Chinese market in an effort to further expand its business in the country.(From a press release, on April 22, 2010)

- More than 196 professional engineers, including those engaged in designing, manufacturing and testing, are working at the Company.
Over the next five years GKN Driveline will be investing 80 million Chinese yuan (approximately 8.7 million euros) to expand its research and development centre in Shanghai. (From a press release on April 18, 2011)

Investment Activities

Investment in China

- The Company will break ground in April 2010 for a new plant in Changchun, Jilin Province - its 12th in China. The facility is scheduled to open in 2011 and will produce one million constant-velocity driveshafts per year for the Chinese market. Annual capacity at the Changchun site will be then boosted to three-million units. (From a press release on April 28, 2010) 

- The Company will increase its annual production capacity of differentials at GKN Driveline Torque Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. to more than 600,000 later in 2010 and will launch power take-off units (PTU) for AWD vehicles in July 2010. GKN Driveline also announced the expansion plan of GKN's Shanghai Technical Center, where a new line of driveline systems are being designed for small cars built by domestic automakers for sale in China. (From a press release on April 28, 2010)