KS Aluminium-Technologie AG (ATAG) is expanding. In addition to its headquarters in Neckarsulm in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and its own tool manufacturing facilities in Wallduern, the company has a production site in China. Kolbenschmidt Pierburg Shanghai Nonferrous Components Co. Ltd. (KPSNC) has branches in Shanghai und Yantai and is a leader in the manufacture of cylinder heads. The joint venture is part of the internationalization strategy of KS ATAG and offers excellent prerequisites for continued growth in China.
KPSNC is a joint venture with China's most prominent automobile manufacturer, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC). Its approximately 1,500 employees manufacture almost two million cylinder heads annually with gravity permanent-mold casting for customers like Shanghai GM, Shanghai VW, and various Chinese original equipment manufacturers. This makes the company number one in China and one of the world's ten leading manufacturers in this field.
KPSNC has its own development expertise and capacities, but is also assisted by ATAG headquarters in Neckarsulm. The latter is still concentrating on high-grade processes and sophisticated products and will continue to consolidate development work, making it possible for new technologies to be transferred from here to the various locations. In addition to casting know-how, the company's key competencies lie increasingly in net machining and in cylinder heads.
As part of its internationalization program, the company has its eye on additional markets. Horst Binnig, CEO of KS ATAG, comments on worldwide growth: "We will always remain open to accepting new challenges and would like to offer and apply our wide-reaching know-how in broader, international markets as well. Our focus here is on the growth markets of the future, that is, China and India. To name just one example: This year, for the first time, more cars will be built in the People's Republic of China than in Germany." ATAG is also on the lookout for new markets because 95 percent of its biggest customers-the premium automobile manufacturers-have already switched to aluminum engines, and, with a market share of over 50 percent, it already holds the leading position in Europe in the 8-, 10-, and 12-cylinder segments. The ongoing expansion of its worldwide presence is intended to further accelerate the international trend toward aluminum for engine blocks.
Consolidation that has taken place in recent years in the cylinder-head market has resulted in the fact that today there are only three external suppliers in Europe - a situation that makes entry into this business promising. Combustion in a cylinder exerts as much force on the cylinder head as on the piston and hence the cylinder head must withstand a similarly high amount of pressure. Manufacturing is costly and complex and requires the most meticulous machining and far-reaching technical expertise. Besides the engine block, it is therefore one of the most complicated and expensive parts in a vehicle.
KS Aluminium-Technologie is the fourth largest division of the Kolbenschmidt Pierburg Group. Core competencies of the company lie in the development, casting, and net-machining of engine blocks made of aluminum alloys. Its customers include all of the leading international automobile manufacturers.
KPSNC is a joint venture with China's most prominent automobile manufacturer, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC). Its approximately 1,500 employees manufacture almost two million cylinder heads annually with gravity permanent-mold casting for customers like Shanghai GM, Shanghai VW, and various Chinese original equipment manufacturers. This makes the company number one in China and one of the world's ten leading manufacturers in this field.
KPSNC has its own development expertise and capacities, but is also assisted by ATAG headquarters in Neckarsulm. The latter is still concentrating on high-grade processes and sophisticated products and will continue to consolidate development work, making it possible for new technologies to be transferred from here to the various locations. In addition to casting know-how, the company's key competencies lie increasingly in net machining and in cylinder heads.
As part of its internationalization program, the company has its eye on additional markets. Horst Binnig, CEO of KS ATAG, comments on worldwide growth: "We will always remain open to accepting new challenges and would like to offer and apply our wide-reaching know-how in broader, international markets as well. Our focus here is on the growth markets of the future, that is, China and India. To name just one example: This year, for the first time, more cars will be built in the People's Republic of China than in Germany." ATAG is also on the lookout for new markets because 95 percent of its biggest customers-the premium automobile manufacturers-have already switched to aluminum engines, and, with a market share of over 50 percent, it already holds the leading position in Europe in the 8-, 10-, and 12-cylinder segments. The ongoing expansion of its worldwide presence is intended to further accelerate the international trend toward aluminum for engine blocks.
Consolidation that has taken place in recent years in the cylinder-head market has resulted in the fact that today there are only three external suppliers in Europe - a situation that makes entry into this business promising. Combustion in a cylinder exerts as much force on the cylinder head as on the piston and hence the cylinder head must withstand a similarly high amount of pressure. Manufacturing is costly and complex and requires the most meticulous machining and far-reaching technical expertise. Besides the engine block, it is therefore one of the most complicated and expensive parts in a vehicle.
KS Aluminium-Technologie is the fourth largest division of the Kolbenschmidt Pierburg Group. Core competencies of the company lie in the development, casting, and net-machining of engine blocks made of aluminum alloys. Its customers include all of the leading international automobile manufacturers.
