U.S. agricultural and farming equipment manufacturer Case IH has been reaping the rewards of its investments in China and remains confident about the Chinese market after operating in the country for over 25 years.
The company first started its collaboration with northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, one of the China's largest grain-producing regions, back in 1999.
It has since played a significant role in helping the province's agricultural modernization drive over the years, with the overall mechanization rate of crop cultivation and harvesting in Heilongjiang now exceeding 99 percent.
Jonathan Pauwels, director of product development and branding for Case IH's Asia-Pacific division, said the company's establishment of a manufacturing plant in the northeastern Chinese province offers it the perfect base to tap into the China market and beyond.
"In the beginning of our business, we mainly did light assembly with a lot of imported components. Setting down the plant here in Harbin gives us the opportunity to start to [deliver] a very robust supply base both in Heilongjiang Province, but also in other provinces in China," said Pauwels.
The firm has grown considerably over the years to become one of the leading agricultural machinery manufacturers operating in the Chinese market, with Pauwels saying recent policies have sent out a further signal of encouragement of the huge market potential.
"The cooperation with Heilongjiang has been over the last 20 years win-win, because in the end, we were able to multiply our investments within the environments. We grew more than six-fold. For example, the recent changes on the subsidy policy in the China market is an encouragement to keep on investing in new products and smart products for the market," he said.
In recent years, Case IH's localization efforts have also delivered benefits and opportunities. The registered investment of its plant in China has reached 195 million U.S. dollars, with the total investment exceeding 300 million U.S. dollars.
Meanwhile, the group's research and development center in Heilongjiang's Harbin City has now deepened its localization push, and now includes dozens of well-trained Chinese engineers.
"Our research and development center was established in 2013. At the beginning, there were many foreign experts who were based in Harbin to give training to the Chinese team. However, in recent years, all the local designs have been completed by the Chinese team," said Hong Yun, the director of product development and quality with Case IH (China).
Currently, China is the world's largest manufacturer and user of agricultural machinery. Ranking top in the world in terms of the annual output of staple crops, the country also promises a promising future for agricultural development, with Case IH also keen to keep sowing the seeds of this development.
"We, as a company, remain very very confident in the China economy. Further, we look into expanding our manufacturing capacity and capability. Again, together with an extension of the product line-up to eventually better suit the China market, the China customers," Pauwels said.
US agricultural machinery maker confident in continued investment in China market
