Weir unveils fresh expansion of Chinese operations with deal

WEIR Group has announced a further expansion of its Chinese operations, with a new assembly plant and more sales offices.

The Glasgow-based industrial firm reached an agreement with Loftyman Engineering of Hong Kong that will see the introduction of eight sales offices across China for control and choke valves, manufactured at Weir Power & Industrial Division's existing Suzhou plant.

The new venture is scheduled to open during the first half of 2011, as FTSE 100-listed Weir aims to grow its presence in the oil, gas and industrial markets.

Weir Minerals will also open an assembly centre this month for its GEHO brand of pumps in Taicang in the province of Jiangsu, with a test stand to allow essential performance testing of the assembled pumps.

Weir says the Taicang facility will be a key element in executing its after-market strategy to support the spare parts supply and service of an already considerable base of installed GEHO pumps in China.

Chief executive Keith Cochrane said Weir now had about 400 employees in China and, though it was still a relatively small part of the group's operations, it was a platform from which to benefit from the country's widely expected growth.

He said: "Weir has had a well-established presence in China for a number of years, through wholly-owned subsidiaries in Suzhou focusing on the mining and power sectors respectively.

"This was enhanced in 2010 through the launch of a joint venture with Shengli Highland and the addition of a manufacturing facility through the acquisition of Linatex. I'm delighted to announce further progress of our Chinese growth strategy."

He added: "I expect China to become an increasingly important market for the Weir Group in the coming years."

Weir's shares closed up 1p at 1,802p.