Ante signs contract with Nanhui to set up factory in Shanghai to produce auto parts

The listed company Amtek Engineering Ltd signed an agreement with Shanghai Nanhui Industrial Park yesterday and announced that it will set up factories to produce automotive parts in the area. The factory's five-year investment is US$21 million (S$36 million) and will be put into production next year.

According to industry insiders, the International Enterprise Development Agency has been actively encouraging Singapore companies to develop in this area and has prompted Singapore companies to gain a better foothold in the global automotive industry. Antwerp is the first company to set up a factory in China to produce automotive components. Singapore company.

Antech Engineering Executive Chairman Li Yamei stated at the press conference yesterday that the company has confirmed that this area will become one of the major growth engines for the Group’s future business. The first-year turnover of the Nanhui plant in Shanghai is expected to be US$20 million to 25 million. USD, this auto parts manufacturing business is expected to become one of the important sources of revenue and profit for the Group in the medium and long term. At present, the production of automotive components accounts for less than 5% of Ante Engineering Group's revenue.

Ante Engineering's investment includes the purchase of a 45,000-square-meter land (1.3 million US dollars) and construction plant cost (7.5 million US dollars) with Nanhui.

Milestones to enter the automotive industry

Li Yamei said that this marks a milestone for Ant to enter the automotive industry. Ante has established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Ante Metal Forming (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., and has recruited Dr. Xu Zhiwen, who is experienced in metal forming, especially cold extrusion, as the chief executive officer of the subsidiary.

According to Dr. Xu Zhiwen, the Shanghai plant will apply advanced cold extrusion technology and other technologies to produce key components and accessories for automobiles, including drive shafts, transmission gears, car door locks, and window structures.

He pointed out that the factory is expected to start construction in August and that most of the plant will be completed and put into operation in May next year. The factory will install many machines. By the end of next year, the total number of employees may increase to four or five hundred.

Li Yamei said that the Chinese auto market is very large, and the company has already had certain customers there, including Delphi and Siemens VDO. This is the reason for setting up factories in China.

As for the choice of setting up a factory in Nanhui, he believes Nanhui is in an advantageous position, has good infrastructure and ample skilled labor, and is rapidly emerging as the next investment hot spot for manufacturing. In addition, the Nanhui plant will work with Ant's existing Shanghai plant and the Suzhou plant, and it will be close to Shanghai's automotive customers such as Delphi, as well as Pudong International Airport and the world-class deep-water port to be built.

China's auto industry will take off

According to Xu Hongzhe, deputy director of the Enterprise Department (Electronics and Precision Machinery Engineering) of the Singapore International Enterprise Development Bureau, the global auto parts industry is a market worth US$534 billion. And China has risen to replace Germany as the third largest auto market in the world, only after the United States and Japan.

He believes that China's auto industry will continue to take off, and this year it is expected that the auto production will exceed 5 million. This shows that Singapore companies will have more new business opportunities to grasp.

The Singapore company’s engineering capabilities are strong, and there are already 50 fine-sector industrial local companies in the automotive industry in Singapore, supplying spare parts and components to Universal Auto Contracting Manufacturers and first-line automotive component suppliers. However, in the face of the global integration trend of the automotive industry, he believes that Singapore companies can concentrate on their areas of expertise and become excellent partners for first-tier component manufacturers.

Chen Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Shanghai Nanhui Industrial Park Management Committee, said when asked, Nanhui District is about the same size as Singapore, and Nanhui Industrial Park is just like Jurong Industrial Park. However, the planning and development of the industrial park is more recent and it is hoped that the development will be driven by automobiles. Industries dominated by manufacturing, shipping accessories, and semiconductor component manufacturing. At present, several Singapore companies have settled in Nanhui.

According to the announcement issued by Ante Engineering, the new factory located in Nanhui Industrial Park is 30 kilometers away from Shanghai Pudong Free Trade Zone. The new Pudong International Airport can be reached within half an hour drive. The new deep-water port currently under construction is 25 kilometers away.