O n February 15th 2012 we inaugurated Sapa’s first extrusion plant in China, Sapa Profiles Jiangyin. Sapa has with our Heat Transfer plant in Shanghai, had operations in China since 1996, but within Profiles the activities have been limited to our Profiles fabrication unit, serving some of our global customers with presence in the region.

The last couple of years we have been working hard to expand our business in Asia. With the acquisition of Alufit in India, the establishment of Sapa btg in Vietnam, the joint venture with Chalco, and now lately the opening of Sapa Profiles Jiangyin, we are reinforcing our ability to serve customers in the region.

By utilizing the experience and technical expertise in Sapa, new solutions will be brought to these markets, benefiting both our local and global customers. In Jiangyin we are now implementing a wide range of improvement activities to enhance the capacity utilization and the capabilities of the plant, including the move of a big 6,800 tonnes press from North America.

Once this move is made and the capacity of the plant is ramped up, Sapa Profiles Jiangyin will be one of the two largest plants in the Sapa Group. Simultaneously, we are putting considerable efforts in building a strong organization capable of serving customers in the whole region. Back in 1996 Sapa was one of the pioneers in China.

One person. who helped build the platform to the success we’re having in China today was Torbjörn Sternsjö. Today he is the ceo of scap, Sapa’s joint venture with China’s largest aluminium producer Chalco. Together the two companies will build a state of the art factory outside Chongquin, to make structural body-parts for the rapidly growing rolling stock industry in China. In this issue of Shape Magazine, you can read more about Torbjörn, and how Sapa became a recognized partner to one of the largest corporations in China.

The journey of Shaping the Future in Asia has only begun.