Fuchs opened a state-of-the-art plant in China, Suzhou with 100,000 tons of output capacity for the first phase. The plant is expected to strengthen Fuchs’ place in the Chinese market, which is a highly strategic market for the company.
FUCHS PETROLUB SE, the world’s largest independent manufacturer of high-quality lubricants and related products, opened one of its most modern plants in Wujiang district of Suzhou, China. The state-of-the-art facility, which began construction in 2017 with an investment of EUR 46 million, is replacing the old plant in Shanghai.
On April 25, 2019, the inauguration of FUCHS China Suzhou Plant was held in Wujiang Economic and Technological Development Zone (WETDZ), Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. Government officials of the Development Zone, Mr. Stefan FUCHS, Chairman of the FUCHS Group, Dr. Timo Reister, member of the executive board, Mr. Klaus Hartig, EVP of East Asia, Mr. Zhu Qingping, CEO of FUCHS China, as well as customer representatives attended the grand ceremony.
The new 80,000 m² plant has a capacity of 100,000 tons in phase 1
The state-of-the-art new facility in Suzhou is an important deployment of FUCHS’ north and south plant strategy. Located in the national WETDZ, the 80,000 m² plant has convenient logistics facilities in the vicinity.
Output capacity amounts to 100,000 tons for phase 1, almost double the capacity of the Shanghai plant. The automated high-bay warehouse has a capacity of 12,000 pallets. It covers a wide range product portfolio for high-end lubricant products, including automotive oils, industrial oils, metalworking fluids, corrosion preventatives, rolling oils, coating materials and products for the forging industry.
It will serve as a new benchmark
The plant meets the highest quality and conforms to FUCHS’ latest standards worldwide. Special blender and high-speed automated filling lines are added to significantly improve the production efficiency, ensuring the future development of the company.
Brand-new systems will be provided for the Industry 4.0-based Suzhou plant, including an industry-leading automated high-bay warehouse, automatic control system for production, a fully automated filling line and conveying system, and a new SAP system with all above new systems integrated, which will become the powerful engine kernel for the Wujiang plant. The smart Suzhou plant will serve as a new benchmark for FUCHS.
An essential part of FUCHS China 5:20 strategy
As Stefan Fuchs pointed out, China is the most critical and most promising market for the FUCHS Group. The Suzhou plant is an essential part of FUCHS China 5:20 strategy, an indispensable link of FUCHS Global 2025 Strategy, and an important commitment made by FUCHS Group to the Chinese market.
FUCHS Group entered the Chinese market as early as 1988 by establishing its first lubricant plant in Yingkou City, Liaoning Province, China. With three decades of rapid development, FUCHS China has made remarkable contributions to the Group’s growth and development. As the largest plant of FUCHS China, the Suzhou plant shall elevate the status of FUCHS China within the Group, and help expand the Group’s business in China. Leveraging the strengths of FUCHS Group, the excellent R&D capabilities of the plant will allow FUCHS China to meet the application needs of customers in automotive and other industries, fulfill the demand for rapid market development with high-quality products, and realize its vision of becoming the preferred high-end lubricant supplier in China.
“During the past 30 years FUCHS has written a true success story in China. China has become one of our most important markets. The new Wujiang plant is another important milestone for the future of FUCHS in China,” emphasizes Stefan Fuchs, Chairman of the Executive Board of FUCHS PETROLUB SE. “It is also an essential part of our global growth initiative in which we invest in the replacement, expansion and efficiency of our worldwide infrastructure, which enables FUCHS to grow and become more agile and efficient.”
“Customers demand better responsiveness and product management”
Zhu Qingping, CEO of FUCHS China, comments, “Our customers are international companies and Chinese corporations which are increasingly seeking high-quality products and demanding better responsiveness and product management. With our new improved manufacturing infrastructure, we have a competitive advantage, and will better satisfy our customers in the promising Chinese lubricants market.”
He also adds, “To increase production efficiency, the new plant is designed based on an ‘intelligent plant’ concept. This means greater and more flexible production due to more automation, more effective material flows and optimized management processes in order to meet customer requirements even better than before. We will also work with an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS). We will be one of the first lubricant manufacturers to use this extremely efficient storage technology in China.”
