Chinese automotive industry relies on Schuler Group technology

The Olympic Games in Beijing are the main event of summer 2008 ¨C all eyes are on China. But for many companies, including Schuler, China has long been an important market. Schuler delivered the first coining press to China as early as 1895 and Chinese mints still pro-duce coins on Schuler presses today. The Chinese car industry and its suppliers are particularly interesting for Schuler. Experts at industry associations, such as the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), forecast double-digit annual growth in the coming years. The Schuler Group is well prepared for this development.

At SDS-GKN, a joint venture between Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation and GKN Driveline, production is to be launched in August 2008 on a Schuler MME 2-2000 multistation press with eccentric drive. The press was manufactured mainly at Schuler¡¯s lead facility in Göppingen, Germany, with some parts being supplied by subsidiary Shanghai Schuler Presses in China. SDS-GKN has been producing constant velocity jointed (CVJ) sideshafts on a Schuler press in Shanghai since 2001. As part of a strategic investment to expand capacities, SDS-GKN decided last year to install a further system from Göppingen.

The presses of the MME2 range are available with nominal press forces of between 630 and 4,000 metric tons and can be used for both cold and warm forming, as well as for precision forging. The large die area makes it possible to produce complex parts with up to six die stations. The sys-tem is rounded out by an extensive range of transfer and tool-changing systems, as well as press peripherals.

In addition to the order from SDS-GKN, the Schuler Group has further orders from China on its books: The FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Company in China, a joint venture between First Automotive Works, Volkswagen und Audi, has ordered two large mechanical press lines and two hydraulic tryout presses. Work began on the lines in May 2008 at Schuler¡¯s facilities in Shanghai, Erfurt and Weingarten.

In February 2009 Schuler will complete the turnkey delivery of an auto-matic solid forming line with knuckle-joint press to the Huazhong Group in Shanghai. The Huazhong Group will use the line to produce parts for constant velocity joints. Manufacturing of the line is set to commence in September 2008 in Göppingen.

Production began in May 2008 at Schuler¡¯s facilities in Weingarten and Erfurt on two forging presses for a customer in China. Both lines are to be supplied in spring 2009. Equipped with the new presses, the customer aims to extend and modernize capacities for the manufacturing of crawler tracks and track support rollers.