The Swiss company, a leading surface engineering solutions provider, recently opened up a new 12,000sqm facility in Shanghai’s Anting automotive hub. The new plant includes a material laboratory enabling to work on tailor-made coating solutions for the Chinese market. After successfully establishing a subsidiary in the center of China in Shiyan (Hubei), Sulzer Metco is planning to open another site in the North of China within the coming year.
“With 12,000 square meters, this facility is three times bigger than our previous site. The new infrastructure gives us the platform to grow fast in the coming years,” states Martin Tempus General Manager of Sulzer Metco’s site in Shanghai. “We now employ more than 220 co-workers in Shanghai, and we believe we can double this number within five years.” The Swiss high-tech company offers coating equipment, materials and services such as, heat-treatment and thermal spray, carbon and PVD coatings to enhance quality and durability of parts. With these services Sulzer Metco provides a comprehensive manufacturing network catering to the automotive, aerospace, power generation, machine tool and oil & gas industries. “Our innovative solutions help our customers to enhance the reliability and safety of their products,” explains Mr. Tempus. To develop tailor-made coating solutions for the Chinese market, Sulzer Metco established a material laboratory where the company’s experts will develop coating materials that cope with local market needs. Mr. Tempus: “The new facility also allows us to integrate coating systems and equipment locally.”
Sulzer Metco’s site in Shanghai founded in 2004
After many years of being active in China with local partners, Sulzer Metco decided to found its own legal entity and to enter the Chinese market with a local sales office and five employees in 2004. “Since then, we achieved strong two-digit turnover growth rates per year, and we quickly outgrew our facility in Shanghai’s Minhang district,” says Martin Tempus. In the coming years, Sulzer Metco aims to profit from the continuously growing Chinese economy, in particular the fast growing automotive market. “Looking at our project pipeline, we are confident to continue our expansion and strengthen our position in the Chinese market. We aim to open another site in the North of China within one year”, explains Mr. Tempus.
Coatings that enhance the shifting experience in the automotive industry
Sulzer Metco delivers high- performance synchronizer rings, modules and high performance friction materials all of which are used in car and truck transmissions. Martin Tempus: “Our high-end coatings ensure smoother shifting during the lifetime of a transmission.” When it comes to coatings for synchronizer rings for passenger, commercial and off-road vehicle transmissions, Sulzer is the global technology leader. These synchronizer rings convince with increased performance, oil compatibility, comfort, lower weight and reduced costs. Another key service that Sulzer Metco offers to manufacturers of the automotive industry is a variety of plasma heat treatment and gas nitriding surface solutions. Innovative technologies such as plasma nitriding as well as the patented IONIT OX process provide corrosion resistance and improve rigidity for improved reliability. “In Shanghai, we enhance the quality of 1.5 million parts per month with our high-technology heat treatment surface solutions.”
Coatings that safe fuel and reduce emissions in the aviation and power industry
Sulzer Metco provides a comprehensive range of thermal spray coating materials and equipment to enhance the efficiency and reliability of gas turbine components. “With the right coating solutions, the operating temperature and pressure in the turbines can be increased. As a result; the turbines need less fuel and reduce CO2 emissions,” says Mr. Tempus. In the aviation sector, such coatings save million litres of fuel and prevent thousands of metric tonnes of CO2 emissions per day.
Coatings that extend life time of tools in the machine industry
Sulzer Metco was one of the first companies to provide R&D of so called PVD & DLC coatings. Since then, the company never stopped innovating and developing the coating technologies and equipment further. “These thin but very hard coatings make a big difference for the productivity of our clients: A coated cutter has a four times longer life time compared to an uncoated cutter. Depending on material and application, our coatings enhance the life time from 30 to 500%,” says Martin Tempus. Besides the positive effects on the life time, the coatings also guarantee corrosion protection and friction reduction during the cutting and forming process.
Sulzer, active in China for almost 100 years
Sulzer Metco is part of the Sulzer Group, a global industrial company founded 1834 in Winterthur, Switzerland. With almost 18,000 employees, Sulzer provides industrial services and solutions at over 170 locations worldwide. For almost 100 years, Sulzer actively operates in China since 1914. Today, Sulzer operates five production sites in China and employs around 2,500 co-workers. Social responsibility is an important mission for the Swiss company: After the devastating Sichuan earthquake in 2008 Sulzer contributed an amount of 1.5 million RMB for the re-construction of schools in the earthquake zone.
Sulzer Metco enhances surfaces with coating solutions and equipment. Customers benefit from a uniquely broad range of surface technologies, coating solutions, equipment, materials, services, and specialized machining services and components. The innovative solutions improve performance and increase efficiency and reliability. Sulzer Metco serves industries such as power generation, aviation, automotive, and other specialized markets.
