At the heart of China’s car industry

That’s why GF Casting Solutions has chosen Shenyang as the location for its third and newest production site in China. GF’s current sites are both in Jiangsu province (Shanghai area) on the east coast, about 1’500 kilometers away. Being closer to a cluster of important customers will effectively cut transportation costs and improve delivery quality. More face-to-face interactions, for example at workshops or other customer events, will also increase business development prospects for GF.

The Shenyang plant produces some of the most complex lightweight parts for cars, such as cross members and rear side members, according to Xuefeng Luo, Chief Operating Officer of GF Casting Solutions in China. “We needed a state-of-the-art facility to produce cutting-edge products,” Xuefeng says. And points out that, in addition to first-class equipment, the plant also has strict safety management – through a combination of procedures, equipment and process control. The sophisticated system proves its worth, for example, in the production of magnesium die castings. “The components have excellent strength-to-weight ratios, yet making them also requires particularly precise and safe handling due to the flammable nature of the materials.”

In addition to the high safety standard, the internal logistics are also noteworthy. The new design of the route-planning system effectively reduces the manual labor needed to move things around in the plant. That ensures production to run smoothly. The facility, which spreads over 48’000 square meters and houses about 70 employees, is a highly automated powerhouse – with five automatic die-casting cells currently in use, including a state-of-the-art machine with a clamping force of 4’400 tons. Every year, it can deliver millions of parts for GF customers.

To Xuefeng, the Shenyang plant is an exemplar of GF’s Strategy 2025, which focuses onintelligent and sustainable solutions, operational excellence, and a performance and learning culture. It not only supplies customers with sustainable products, it also has high environmental standards itself. LEED Silver certification for the buildings is in the final stages. They feature a slew of environmentally friendly systems, including solar panels, rainwater collecting equipment and wastewater treatment systems. With these systems in place, the plant will be soon annually be able to treat 2’000 tons of wastewater, generate 720’000 kWh of solar power, and save 160 tons of rainwater.

The new site is also expected to attract more skilled talent, thanks to its operational excellence and high-standard working conditions which reinforce GF’s reputation in the market. “GF is known to be a workplace that cares deeply about employees and offers valuable training and learning opportunities for career development,” Xuefeng says, who recently rejoined GF after leaving in 2011. He says the company’s culture of performance and learning played a huge role in his decision to return. “I’m very impressed by the fact that GF has always been a leader in this fast-evolving industry, and I believe the culture is an integral part of its success.”

Xuefeng expects the Shenyang team to help further improve GF‘s position in China. “We may see more challenges and uncertainties in the next decade, but I’m very confident that GF will continue to excel in helping our customers succeed.”