GKN expands in China

Haixiang Wang, Business Development Director at GKN Group in China, said the company will build a 44,000-square-metre plant scheduled to open during the first half of 2009. Speaking at press briefings in Beijing, Haixiang Wang said the Shanghai GKN (SDS) facility in Wuhan initially will supply driveshafts for Dongfeng and Dongfeng’s joint-venture programmes with Honda and Citroen. Expected to provide more than 600 jobs, the plant will have an annual production capacity of more than one million driveshafts. The company also is showcasing technology from its 10 existing Chinese production facilities at this month’s Beijing International Auto Show. The first major European automotive supplier to invest in China, GKN is the country’s leading producer of driveline components, currently with manufacturing operations in Kangqiao, Zhoupu and Shenjiang in Pudong (pictured), Shanghai, as well as plants in Chongqing and Jilin. The GKN executive added that the company is introducing "breakthrough" technology that provides lighter driveshaft components, improved fuel economy and better overall vehicle performance. “Customers whose cars are equipped with our new technology will notice significant improvements in performance," Wang said. GKN Driveline says its next generation of driveshaft components will enable automakers to provide new-car buyers with products that are: · Lighter by up to two kilos per vehicle set, · More efficient with an improved fuel economy and reduced CO2 emissions, · Easier to park with turning-circle reductions of one metre or more, and · Quieter, due to reductions in driveline noise, vibration and harshness. "Our new designs represent the first major change in constant-velocity-joint (CVJ) technology in more than 70 years," said Wang. "Teamwork played a major role in the development process. Engineering groups working together at company research centres around the world were able to develop production-ready components in less than three years."