Friday 29 August 08 - 06:08
 

With a GDP of nearly £1,340 billion in 2006 (10.7% up on 2005) it’s an obvious market to attack. China’s economy is now ranked 4th in the world; and it is growing steadily.

The outlook for 2007 is daunting. According to Wu Bailin, president of the China Machine Tool Builders Association, speaking at the CIMT 2007 exhibition, the predicted total industrial output of the engineering industry is forecast to grow at 20%. Profits will grow by 24%, and imports and exports are set to increase by 25%, achieving a basic trade balance.

The engineering marketplace in China is not for the faint-hearted. China’s success is driven by its retail and machinery manufacturing sectors.

With the value of consumer goods reaching £500 billion in 2006, growing at an outstanding 14% on 2005, this trend is set to continue as more middle-class consumers emerge into the marketplace. It is uncertain that this is sustainable in the long term.

In the engineering arena, the machine building industry produced a total industrial output value of £360 billion, up 30% on 2005 and accounting for 17% of China’s industrial output value. This is down to the growth in automotive and electrical appliance sales requiring improved productivity through advancing manufacturing technologies.

Achievements in technology advancements are becoming more common. Four 1+ megawatt power generators, forty supercritical turbines sets, 15,000 ton water presses, a 4,000 ton float crane and a range of 27 cubic metre excavators are just a few of the larger projects completed in China last year. The figures are mind-boggling.
Stevens Rowsell is a specialist precision sheet metal engineering company in East Sussex