Schaeffler Group (China) Business Report FY ended Dec. 2017
New Plant
-In March 2018, Schaeffler announced a new plan for the future, the "Agenda 4 plus One", its goal is to achieve profitable growth of 300 million Euros by 2020 through the implementation of this plan. The “Agenda 4 plus One” consists of 20 initiatives including “E-Mobility”, “Industry 4.0”, “Factory for tomorrow”,“Working Capital” and so on. It is said that, on the aspect of “E-Mobility”, there are 8 production orders and 25 customer projects in the process. In addition, as a part of the “Factory for tomorrow” project, a 315,000-square-meter plant with the latest equipment is being built in Xiangtan, China. Furthermore, according to the strategy of “Working Capital”, the systematic driving funds management will be conducted so as to achieve the optimized cash flow. (From a press release on March 7, 2018)
-Schaeffler Group announced that it is building its first ever “Factory for tomorrow” at the new production location in Xiangtan in the Chinese province of Hunan. In 2018, the construction of the production plant will begin and it is expected to start operating in 2019. The building will be constructed on a total area of approx. 315,000 square meters. Components and systems for engines, transmissions, and chassis systems will be manufactured for the automotive industry in this plant. It is modeled on the shape of a butterfly. The four halls represent the wings, and the buildings in the center represent the body where various departments are accommodated including the administrative departments. (From a press release on November 27, 2017)
Started Production
-On March 16, 2018, Schaeffler AG announced an official launch of the world's first production of P2 hybrid modules at its plant in Taicang. The P2 hybrid modules is a modularized solution for electrically-powered powertrain developed by Schaeffler. The module is composed mainly of high-power-density permanent-magnetic synchronous motors, dry clutches, and a motor actuator mechanism. It will be mounted in between a conventional internal combustion engine and transmission. The entire system combines motors with the output ranging from 25kW and 80kW and transmits high torque of 250Nm through the clutches. (The output can reach 800Nm at the maximum when the clutches are locked.) The module supports several types of driving patterns, for example, the combination of electrically-powered start and driving, motor-assisted engine-powered driving, starting an engine during electrically-powered driving. It also recovers energy while braking. Vehicles equipped with the module can ensure excellent driving performance using both a motor and an engine. When mounted on a plug-in hybrid vehicle that can electrically travel more than 50 kilometers, the module can improve its fuel efficiency at least by 70%. The first Chinese-brand model equipped with Schaeffler’s P2 hybrid module was released in October 2017. In 2018, the Chinese arm of Schaeffler is going to build a new electric drive research center in China to enhance its local research and development capacity. (From a press release on March 19, 2018)
R&D Center
-The company has an R&D center in Anting.
-In 2018, Schaeffler China will establish a new electric drive R&D center to further strengthen its Chinese native research and development capabilities. (From a press release on November 28, 2017)
Business Cooperation
-In March 2017, Schaeffler announced that it will enhance the cooperation with Citic Pacific Special Steel Holdings (CPS) on the business of economy and technology. As the supplier of Schaeffler, CPS has 13 years of supporting experience in the products offerings for 13 factories of Schaeffler in China, Asia Pacific and US and Europe area, in addition, CPS also provides products for more than 50 suppliers of Schaeffler. Since 2012, the amount of special steel purchased by Schaeffler from CPS has risen an average of 13% per year, up to now it has purchased about 140,000 tons of special steel. Schaeffler plans to increase its amount purchased by approximately 10% annually in the next few years. Since the existing equipment is already in full production, Schaeffler plans to build a new plant in Xiangtan, and at the end of 2018, the auto parts and precision bearings will be produced in the new plant. (From a press release on March 31, 2017)
New product
-The Company developed clutch discs with centrifugal pendulum-type absorbers. The new clutch discs reduce torsional vibration that is created between the engine and the transmission. In terms of performance and cost, they are between traditional torsional damper clutches and dual mass flywheels. Mass production is expected begin in 2017, first in Europe. In China, the first model with Schaeffler's new clutch discs is expected to be available at the end of 2017. (From a press release on February 21, 2017)