ALFA Laval AB, the world's largest maker of heat exchangers, will double its production capacity in China next year from the level of 2005, the company said yesterday.
It's banking on increasing spending by the nation on nuclear power generation, energy conservation and environment protection, a senior company official said.
The expansion will help the Swedish firm continue its momentum in the market over the past 15 years, when average annual sales growth for its China operation registered at least 20 percent, said Jan Debruyn, president of Alfa Laval China.
"We see huge potential for applications of our products as customers buying anything related to our products usually get support from the government," said Debruyn.
The expansion will take place at its existent two plants in eastern China. He said that the company is building up research and development capacities in China and the recruitment of engineers is under way. The group is also looking for acquisition opportunities to accelerate its growth.
The company, with products ranging from energy-efficient heat exchangers, industrial valves and pumps and oil purification systems for ships, had revenues of about three billion yuan (US$400 million) in China in the year ending September 30, accounting for 11 percent of its global sales.
More than half of its output in China was exported. The bulk of its China operation's sales came from customers in machinery, mining and sewage treatment industries, and also marine technologies that alone took around 35 percent of business.
To further diversify its portfolio here, the company yesterday launched in Shanghai a product that can treat ballast water for ships, which can also prevent migration of species carried by the vessels from one place to another, a problem that threatened local ecologies.