Green light for Schmitz Cargobull in China

The Schmitz Cargobull/Dongfen Motor Group joint venture is building momentum, with construction of a new Chinese trailer manufacturing facility now underway

A little over one year after German trailer heavyweight Schmitz Cargobull signed its joint venture with China’s Dongfen Motoring Group, the foundation stone of the union’s first trailer manufacturing facility has been laid in a formal ‘groundbreaking’ ceremony in Wuhan, China.

Top executives from both companies, along with local Wuhan dignitaries, recently met to witness the occasion, which represents the official start of the plant’s construction.

Progress is expected to be swift, with the first trailers due to roll off the production line in the second half of 2014.

The joint venture will see over $100 million poured into the 30,000m² facility over the next five years. A projected total of 2500 trailers are expected to be produced in its first year, ramping up to 20,000 trailers per annum over the course of the next three years. The plant has a full annual production capacity of 40,000 trailers.

The facility will see Schmitz Cargobull produce trailers for the massive Chinese domestic market. According to Andreas Schmitz, a member of the board of Schmitz Cargobull and CEO of the joint venture, Chinese conditions demand an incredibly tough trailer.

“Their use on unsealed roads is a day to day occurrence in China,” he said.

“Despite the regulations, overloading is common. That is why the trailers have to be especially robust,” he added.

The joint venture sees Europe’s largest trailer manufacturer team with China’s third-largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, as they utilise their synergies to tap into a local market of 300,000 tractor units and trailers per annum.

Green light for Schmitz Cargobull in China

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