As a global technology group with a history of 175 years, the Freudenberg Group has not only continued to develop scientific and technological innovations, but has also witnessed and participated in the development of the Chinese market for decades.
The Freudenberg Group's 2024 China Media Conference was held in Shanghai to review its business performance in fiscal 2023 and its development results over the past year, as well as to plan and look forward to its local innovation path. Wang Jiayu, representative of Freudenberg Group in China, and Dr. Cheng Yingjun, Senior Manager of Future Technology Business in China of Freudenberg Technology Innovation, were interviewed by our reporter and shared their insights on topics such as localization and innovation capabilities.
Left: Cheng Yingjun, Senior Manager of Future Technology in China, Freudenberg Technology Innovation, and right: Wang Jiayu, Representative of Freudenberg Group China
Increase investment in innovation in China
According to the performance of the Freudenberg Group in fiscal year 2023, Freudenberg's operating profit, sales and R&D investment reached an all-time high in this year, of which sales revenue in Greater China reached 10.13 billion yuan. The success in the Chinese market is inseparable from the Freudenberg Group's in-depth implementation of the localization development strategy.
The Freudenberg Group has long set its sights on China. 2024 is not only the 175th anniversary of the establishment of the group, but also the 30th anniversary of the establishment and production of the factory in Chinese mainland. Over the past 30 years, Freudenberg has firmly rooted itself in China, witnessing and experiencing the rapid development of the Chinese market and the increasingly open business environment.
Wang Jiayu told this reporter: "So far, Freudenberg Group has a production and R&D base in China, and our investment in local innovation in China is still growing, hoping to tailor products for Chinese customers to meet their needs, and achieve breakthroughs in local technological innovation, rather than just using the group's existing solutions." This is in line with the Group's 'In China, For China' philosophy. ”
Based on the rapid development of new energy vehicles in China, Vibrator has designed an NVH solution solution that reduces noise and vibration from the engine, motor, drivetrain, and road surface to the chassis because of the rapid development of new energy vehicles in China. In 2023, Vibrink will start local production of air springs at its Wuxi plant, and will officially enter mass production in 2024, and plans to further expand the local production of air springs.
NOK-Freudenberg China, the sealing specialist of the Freudenberg Group, is building a sales, R&D and production complex in Wuxi, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. The local R&D center and new plant will not only help NOK-Freudenberg expand its production capacity in the Chinese market, but also rely on the insight into China's new energy, automotive, and advanced manufacturing industries to carry out local innovative R&D, improve response speed, and provide more advanced solutions for customers in the general industrial and automotive industries.
Renderings of the sealing specialist NOK-Freudenberg (China) R&D center and the new plant of NOK-Freudenberg in Wuxi
In the fourth quarter of 2024, Freudenberg Filtration Technologies will start an automation upgrade project for its automotive filter line at its Suzhou plant, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, increasing production capacity by 20 percent.
"Since entering the Chinese market, the Freudenberg Group has been focusing on customer needs and has been promoting the full localization of innovation, development and production. In 2024, the Freudenberg Group will also launch a series of investment projects in the Chinese market to support the high-quality development of China's economy. Wang Jiayu said.
Discover cutting-edge emerging technologies
Commenting on the innovative strength of the Freudenberg Group, Wang Jiayu said: "The Freudenberg Group can become a technical specialist with many 'weapons', and no matter which direction the industry is developing, there will be technical highlights to match." In fact, the Freudenberg Group's 175-year history of innovation is largely due to its future-oriented technological development and innovation.
As part of Freudenberg's Global Innovation Division, Freudenberg established the Technology Innovation Department in China in 2022 to conduct forward-looking research in the areas of e-mobility, new energy, sustainability and smart manufacturing. Through open innovation, Freudenberg is able to explore emerging technologies in China and seek cooperation with Chinese universities, research institutes and start-ups.
Focusing on the Chinese market, the Technology Innovation Department has focused its strategic direction on automation, visual materials and product development, energy transition and e-mobility, and sustainable development. Dr. Cheng Yingjun said: "In today's rapidly changing technological environment, the Freudenberg Group wants to build a more open innovation ecosystem and work with partners from industry, academia and research to promote innovation and industrial upgrading. Since the establishment of Freudenberg China's Technology Innovation Department, we have reached a strategic cooperation with the Yangtze River Delta National Innovation Center, and have also had in-depth exchanges with well-known universities, as well as local innovative companies such as Aqiu Technology and Mechmind, in the fields of lithium batteries, hydrogen energy, artificial intelligence and automation technology, to explore the application of emerging technologies. ”
After the start of the journey, the technology innovation department will explore new technologies with a medium- and long-term and forward-looking vision, and also focus on the exploration of the value chain and ecosystem. In the future, the Technology Innovation Department will also focus on the development and application of local technologies for automation, the exploration of business opportunities in the hydrogen energy industry chain, and the sustainable development of materials and processes.
Dr. Cheng Yingjun told our reporter: "We will hold the Global Innovation Forum in Germany in May 2023, inviting some leading domestic machine vision startups to Germany for technology demonstration and exchange. At the German headquarters, there are business groups that directly use 3D cameras, algorithms and software, as well as solutions for disorderly gripping from domestic start-ups. We not only develop and cooperate with emerging technologies in China, but also look for partners around the value chain of the Freudenberg Group and develop innovative technologies together with them. Not only do we focus on emerging technologies on the current market and introduce them within the Freudenberg Group at an early stage, but we also empower our partners with the technologies and products of the Freudenberg Group at an early stage. ”
Thanks to the reach of the Technology Innovation Department, the Freudenberg Group is better able to talk about the future with colleges, institutes and start-ups, shape the innovation ecosystem together, and actively explore open innovation cooperation models and emerging business opportunities.
Write at the end
The Freudenberg Group is fully pursuing a long-term development strategy for mobility, digitalization and sustainability. For the Group, the importance of the Chinese market is self-evident, and local technological innovation has also brought more growth opportunities to the business.
As Wang Jiayu said, "In China, for China" is the development strategy of the Freudenberg Group based on the current market situation and after judging the situation. By increasing investment in localization and innovation in China, shaping the value chain that links the whole industry and building a more open innovation ecosystem, we can not only ensure that the needs of the domestic market and customers are met, but also pave the way for local innovation to feed back to the world in the future.