China - August 29, 2024

Chinese coastal city of Qingdao a magnet for global companies

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Among the international giants with a deep 30-year presence in Qingdao is the Swedish marine boiler maker Alfa Laval. Although the massive machinery at their facility might seem distant from our daily lives, Sebastian Majewski, the director of the Qingdao factory, offers a different perspective.

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Sebastian Majewski, Site Manager, Marine Division Alfa Laval:

"For sure you might have something on the vessel you just ordered from another part of the world, which is our system, they were probably somewhere installed in one of these vessels."

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Leveraging the city's coastal location, Sebastian said the Qingdao factory is Alfa Laval's largest investment worldwide. And not long ago in 2020, they expanded further by building a new facility, hiring over 1000 employees here - more than in any of their other locations globally.

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Sebastian Majewski, Site Manager, Marine Division Alfa Laval:

"Between 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, every year Alfa Laval was kind of putting new capacity or a new factory in China."

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This largely attributed to the city's robust supply chain and efficient logistics network.

Shandong's proximity to South Korea and Japan has established the region as a key hub for investments from these two countries.

With over 5,000 enterprises from South Korea and Japan operating in the province, industry giant Bridgestone's Qingdao factory director Hoshino, is now strategizing for future opportunities with his team.

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Hoshino Taishi, Managing Director, Bridgestone (Qingdao) Ltd.:

"Although there was a speed bump during COVID-19, the industry keeps growing. That is true. There were some uncertainties will come in the future, but we believe that growing tendency will last."

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As China opens its doors wider to the world, these firms continue to explore the full potential that China has to offer.

[Restriction: No access Chinese mainland]