Company News Feb 23, 2005 5:11 PM
ThyssenKrupp to expand its presence in Singapore - new representative office opened
ThyssenKrupp today announced plans to strengthen its presence in Singapore. "We intend to expand our activities in Singapore and are presently examining further acquisitions and joint venture projects," said Dr. Olaf Berlien, Executive Board Member of ThyssenKrupp AG responsible for Southeast Asia and Chairman of the Executive Board of ThyssenKrupp Technologies AG.
Berlien is in Singapore to open ThyssenKrupp´s new representative office in the Nordic European Center of the International Industrial Business Park in Jurong, Singapore. The office is the new home of almost all the Group's companies in Singapore. Berlien said: "This move reaffirms our over forty-year engagement in Singapore. The centralization of our companies at one location provides greater visibility for the Group with our customers and the public, and allows us to provide greater value-added services for our customers through the cross-sharing of expertise between our different business units."
ThyssenKrupp in Singapore
As a business location Singapore offers several advantages: on an international level, employees are highly skilled, per capita productivity is high and it is a strong regional base for ThyssenKrupp´s growing sales markets in Asia/Pacific.
Berlien said: "We aim to tap on these advantages and expand our activities in the country." The latest example is the acquisition of the service business of Elevator Service 1 Pte. Ltd (ES1) by one of the Group´s segments and world's third largest elevator manufacturer, ThyssenKrupp Elevator, in March 2004.
ThyssenKrupp Elevator has long-term plans for its business in Singapore and is interested in further acquisitions in the country. Based on the countr's strong growth prospects, ThyssenKrupp Elevator plans to double its sales in Singapore in the next three to five years. Another Group segment, ThyssenKrupp Services, also intends to grow its business in the materials trading area. In addition there are other projects which hold considerable potential: for example, there are plans to carry out a feasibility study into using the breakthrough Transrapid maglev technology for the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur link. The 350 kilometer journey currently takes six hours by rail. If implemented, the Transrapid could cover this distance in no more than an hour.
Focus on the high-growth Asia/Pacific region
"The growth prospects in Asia/Pacific make this region increasingly important for the Group", said Berlien. In fiscal year 2003/2004 the Group generated sales in the region of around 3,5 billion euros, equivalent to 13,6 percent of the Group's total foreign sales of 25,8 billion euros. ThyssenKrupp´s presence in the region is being systematically expanded by targeted strategic acquisitions and joint ventures. The latest example is the Group's investment in South Korea, where ThyssenKrupp acquired 75 percent of the Dongyang group in October 2003. ThyssenKrupp Dongyang Elevator employs roughly 1,000 people and is Korea's second largest elevator manufacturer with a market share of around 25 percent.