When Schreiner Group's Chinese production site in Shanghai opened its doors for the Grand Opening in March 2016 under the motto "Inspired by Tradition - Built for Innovation", intensive planning had preceded it. For the medium-sized family business from Oberschleissheim, opening a Chinese location was a positive adventure that paid off. Now the production site in the greater Shanghai area is celebrating its fifth anniversary - and the future is already planned.
"One of our major competitive advantages in China is sustainable quality," explains Thomas Köberlein, Head of the Schreiner ProTech Division. "We place the highest value on ensuring that the same standards and high level prevail in our Chinese plant as in Germany. We work with identical high-tech machines, and the quality demands on employees, processes and results are the same as here. This is very much appreciated by our customers." Five years ago, it was only Schreiner ProTech products that were manufactured in Fengpu, mainly for the automotive sector. But the product portfolio has not only been expanded in recent years; in the meantime, the Schreiner MediPharm division also manufactures products for the pharmaceutical industry at the Chinese site.
Schreiner Group is also focusing on further growth in China. Not only will the number of products increase in the coming years, but product development, which has so far been carried out at the headquarters in Oberschleissheim, will in future be implemented directly on site at the Chinese location. For Managing Director Roland Schreiner, these are great prospects: "The Shanghai site has developed wonderfully in recent years and I am convinced that we have set the course for a successful future of Schreiner Group in China. As a supplier, this makes us an attractive partner for our global customers: We thereby offer them greater supply security for their Chinese production facilities and support the success of their internationalisation by being present locally."
Schreiner Group already recorded an important milestone in 2019. After only three years, the Chinese location reached break-even. A lot has also happened in terms of personnel. "While production started in 2016 with six Chinese and six German employees, today there are 24 employees in Shanghai, almost all of them Chinese," reports Jamie Long, General Manager of Schreiner Group Ltd. China.
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