KSB Valves Invests in Changzhou National Hi-Tech District, China

CHANGZHOU, China, Dec. 28, 2010 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Germany-based KSB Valves recently invested in building a plant at the Changzhou National Hi-Tech District, in eastern China's Jiangsu Province. The company plans to make Changzhou its strategic center in China. The new facility is expected to be completed and put into operation in the middle of next year, with the annual capacity expected to exceed 15,000 units in the first year and reach 50,000 units in the fourth year.

KSB is one of the world's leading manufacturers of pumps, valves and related systems. In 2009, the company had 14,249 employees, and realized sales of 1.891 billion euros.

As part of KSB's global operation strategy and with an initial investment of US$10 million, the newly-established KSB Valves (Changzhou) Co., Ltd. will manufacture valves for energy, shipbuilding and industrial markets both in China and abroad. "We chose Changzhou National Hi-Tech District as our future valve hub because of the advantageous geographical location, strong government support and the district's professional management," a spokesperson for the board of KSB said.

China is now the world's largest valve exporter. Leveraging the advantages of Changzhou, which not only has strong casting and machinery processing capacities but also is home to the Yangtze River Changzhou Port, a national first-class open port in China, KSB Valves (Changzhou) Co., Ltd. will build a logistics and storage center to offer products with competitive pricing and delivery time worldwide.

Changzhou National Hi-Tech District has attracted many local and overseas investors such as Germany-based Lanxess, Leoni, BAERLOCHERGMBH, Otto Bock, Hoerbiger, Linde Group, Switzerland-based Georg Fischer, Mettler Toledo, Rieter Textile Instrument, US-based Terex, Ashland Chemical, Kohler, Chart, Visteon, Magna Powertrain, V&M, Disa, Polynt Group, Kymco Motors, Komatsu, Nippon Steel Corp, OKI, Bridgestone, Fujitsu, and Fuji Heavy Industry, among others.