Benecke-Kaliko Agrees Chinese Joint Venture

Benecke-Kaliko AG has signed a joint venture agreement with Jiangsu Changshun International Trading Co in order to “expand production capacities considerably.” Approximately 10 million euros will be invested in a production site in the provincial town of Zhangjiagang City, 120 kilometres north west of Shanghai. The factory will produce PVC expanded sheeting and PVC leatherette for the Chinese automotive industry from mid 2006, creating 170 jobs

The Benecke-Kaliko Group will be responsible for managing the company as far as industrial matters are concerned and the new site will cover an area of about 20,000 square metres. The joint venture will be known as Benecke Changshun Auto Trim (Zhangjiagang) Co Ltd. ContiTech AG will have a majority holding in the new company.

“With this, we are following our customers such as VW and General Motors,” emphasised Continental board chairman Dirk Leiß. “Our strategic goal is to permanently strengthen our competitive position and further expand our worldwide market leadership for high-quality surface materials for the automotive industry,” he added.