New plc manufacturing facility for China

The Siemens Industry Automation Division is further expanding its position in the Asian growth market: In a new factory to be built in Chengdu in the Chinese province of Sichuan, Siemens is to develop and manufacture high-end Simatic controllers and automation components from the middle of 2013. The corresponding agreements were signed with local authorities today. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new factory is scheduled for February 2012

With its new Chengdu electronics factory, Siemens is striving to satisfy the growing worldwide demand for modern and energy-efficient automation solutions. "This investment will further strengthen our presence in one of the world's most dynamic markets", according to  Eckard Eberle, head of the Industrial Automation Systems business unit. "The rapidly increasing number of manufacturing companies in Asia tightens the competition between each other, thus making technical solutions necessary to produce more quickly, at the highest quality standards and also cost-effectively."

From 2013 mainly Simatic S7 programmable logic controllers (PLC) will be manufactured in Chengdu. During an initial expansion phase, the new factory in Chengdu will comprise approximately 3,000 square meters. Depending on future market growth, the factory can be expanded to a total of 10,000 square meters and a workforce of more than 1,000.

The new factory in Chengdu will be designed as an affiliated factory of the Electronics Manufacturing Plant (EWA) in Amberg, where Siemens has already been developing and manufacturing a major part of its controllers for several decades. As in Amberg, the Chengdu plant will also be organized as a "digital factory" where the development and manufacturing departments are completely interlinked. The consistent flow of information provides the basis for both extra-high product quality and optimized transportation and delivery processes.