WUXI, China. (September 28, 2021) — Donaldson held the production launch ceremony for the second campus of the Donaldson Wuxi facility (Feifeng Plant). Senior officers from Xinwu District Party and Government Office, Publicity Department, Development and Reform Commission, Industry and Information Technology Bureau, Finance Bureau, Konggang (Shuofang Sub-district), Xingzhou Holdings and other departments, customer representatives, supplier representatives, media, and more than 100 employees attended the ceremony.
Mr. Andrew Dahlgren, Vice President for Asia Pacific, Mr. Ming Bi, Managing Director for Donaldson Greater China, and Mr. Kevin Borg, Director of Operations for Asia Pacific attended the ceremony and delivered speeches. This is the second gathering after the groundbreaking ceremony for the new plant in December 2018. It is of great significance to choose to launch three product lines in a golden autumn season of harvest.
In his speech, Mr. Ming Bi, Managing Director for Donaldson Greater China, expressed gratitude for the great support, particularly from Wuxi Xinwu District Committee and District Government to Donaldson China over the past 20 years. Mr. Ming Bi mentioned the new plant experienced a minimal impact from the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to the joint efforts of the Feifeng team. With foreign experts unable to travel to the site, the local team leveraged virtual solutions to successfully commission the imported equipment and start the production of Donaldson's advanced product lines. Mr. Ming Bi concluded his remarks with a commitment—that Donaldson will continue to introduce new products and production lines into the new Feifeng plant to achieve full capacity production within the next 3-5 years.
Mr. Kevin Borg, Director of Operations for Asia Pacific, applauded that the new Feifeng plant is one of Donaldson's key manufacturing facilities in the world. He mentioned that three and a half years ago where he was standing was just a field of grass. Now, this field grows economic opportunity for Donaldson, for Wuxi, and for China. Mr. Kevin Borg pointed out that the plant will play an important role in Donaldson’s global manufacturing footprint for many years to come. Of course, it takes a lot of hard work and a welcoming business climate to make that happen. He said that all of our staff played an important role in encouraging Donaldson to expand in Wuxi with confidence and to build on the partnership that now stretches back over 20 years. He welcomed the guests to the new Feifeng plant and hoped that they all feel as proud as he does of what Donaldson created here.
Mr. Andrew Dahlgren, Vice President for Asia Pacific, introduced his stories with the Wuxi factory. He recalled that Donaldson started manufacturing operations in Wuxi in 1997. Donaldson’s first investment was a Disk Drive filtration Plant in the Wuxi-Singapore Industrial Park. He was an Engineering Manager stationed in Hong Kong at that time and was coming here regularly to help commission the plant. He was immediately impressed with the hard-working team, the efficiency of the Industrial Park, and the support of the Wuxi New District (as it was known then). He believed that Donaldson could be successful here in Wuxi. He was also fascinated by the incredible progress that has been realized in the city of Wuxi and the rest of China. Donaldson employees have contributed directly to that progress and it has been amazing to see it unfold and to play our small part in this progress.
Mr. Andrew Dahlgren mentioned that Donaldson has already planned to make additional investments into Wuxi operations. Much of that is geared toward filling up the empty space we see here with new filtration capabilities. The technology produced in the Feifeng plant will help support new regulations for factories, such as the Blue Sky Initiative, which requires improved emissions control. He mentioned that the plant also symbolizes our corporate purpose of “Advancing Filtration for a Cleaner World”. In closing, Mr. Andrew Dahlgren expressed his gratitude to all attendees and contributors and mentioned that next year, Donaldson will be celebrating 25 years of operating in Wuxi. The plant marks an important step towards the next 25 years, and he looks forward to sharing that experience with us.
Since its establishment in 1915, Donaldson has been committed to providing high-quality filtration products to customers around the world. As a multinational corporation with a history of over 100 years in the global filtration industry, Donaldson made its presence in China as early as the 1970s and established the first Donaldson manufacturing facility in Wuxi, China in 1997. Including Feifeng, there are now six Donaldson plants in Wuxi to meet the growing demand for filtration products in the Chinese market. Donaldson also has a national-level certification laboratory located in Wuxi. These achievements are made possible by the strong support of the Wuxi government and fully reflect Donaldson's confidence in the Chinese market.
Three production lines of PowerCore® air filter elements, liquid filter elements, and pleated bags were launched at the ceremony.
1. Production line for PowerCore® air filter elements
Donaldson's innovative PowerCore® air filters have delivered “big performance in a small footprint” for more than 20 years. The recent growth of PowerCore air filtration products in the field of commercial vehicles and off-road applications in China benefited from the government's focused attention on the Blue-Sky Initiative and the rollout of stricter emission regulations on heavy-duty commercial vehicles. Choosing genuine PowerCore technology supports the long service life of the filter element, thus helping reduce the frequency of replacement of filter element as well as operating time of the equipment; in addition, it also helps to support fuel economy. Lastly, the smaller size of PowerCore air cleaners and filters help support the requirement for additional onboard space needed for more effective (often large) emissions after treatment systems.
2. Production line for liquid filter elements
Modern engines rely on highly advanced fuel injection systems to precisely control diesel combustion. These systems require highly clean and dry diesel fuel in order to operate reliably. Without clean diesel, abrasion and corrosion can damage fuel system components, thus increasing maintenance costs for customers. To help protect components such as high-pressure-common-rail fuel injectors and related pumps, advanced fuel filtration technology is required on today’s heavy-duty commercial vehicles. By using innovative Donaldson fuel filtration products powered by Donaldson filter media technology (such as Synteq™ XP technology), our customers get clean fuel to support effective system operation.
3. Pleated filter bag production line
Donaldson pleated filter bags, engineered with an innovative pleat pack design, have the advantage of increasing the effective filtration area versus non-pleated bags, reducing energy use due to less frequent pulsing, saving space on new collectors, requiring less downtime during filter change-outs, and offering easier maintenance. They are widely used in the metallurgical industry, grain, oil, food, power electronics, new energy, and other industries. Upgrading existing bag filters to pleated bags supports efficient energy usage, reduced stack emissions, and less downtime, which offers economic value for customers.
Donaldson’s management team expressed their confidence in the Chinese market, delivered their gratitude to the government, customers, and partners for their support, and to the team of the new plant for their hard work.
Donaldson firmly believes that its operations in China will continue to grow at a high speed. Donaldson China is determined to make additional investments in building production facilities, expanding our customer network, strengthening Research and Development capabilities in China, and further improving customer service capabilities, so as to fulfill Donaldson's commitment to Chinese customers.
"Creating value for customers" is Donaldson's commitment to customers and the market. We believe that the mass production capacity of the three production lines at Feifeng will improve efficiency and productivity, create higher value for more Chinese customers, provide support to China’s Blue Sky Initiative and help Donaldson’s overall filtration solutions better serve the market in China and broader Asia Pacific.
