Pictured above: From left: Edward Stroud, general
manager of Oleo Buffers (Shanghai) Company, Madam Fu Ying, the
Chinese Ambassador to Britain, and Doug Mahoney, UK Trade &
Investment's International Trade Director for the West Midlands,
are pictured at Oleo International's factory in Coventry
The Chinese Ambassador has seen for herself how leading-edge
manufacturing in Coventry and Warwickshire is beating the economic
downturn.
Madam Fu Ying visited Oleo International and WMG (formerly
Warwick Manufacturing Group) on Friday (27 November) as part of a
visit organised by UK Trade & Investment to see examples of
British manufacturing excellence.
Oleo International, of Exhall, Coventry, has been designing and
manufacturing energy absorption technologies across a wide range of
industries for more than 60 years.
The company has traded with China for many years and has had a
physical presence in the market since 2004, first with a
representative office and then in 2006 with its own factory in
Songjiang near Shanghai.
Many of its major customers are in China and recent projects
carried out by Oleo in the market include:
• Railway end stops in the Beijing Olympic village railway
station and on the Shanghai high speed Maglev airport link;
• Elevator buffers in the three tallest buildings in
Shanghai - the Pearl TV tower, the Jin Mao tower and the World
Financial Centre tower;
• Train coupler capsules on the high speed Beijing to
Tianjin express; and
• Buffers installed on dock cranes made in Shanghai.
Edward Stroud, general manager of Oleo Buffers (Shanghai)
Company, said: "In view of the strong trading and manufacturing
relationship that Oleo has had with China for many years, we were
delighted to welcome the Chinese Ambassador, Madam Fu Ying, to our
factory.
"We see China as a key market for the future. We will continue
to invest in technology and manufacturing both in the UK and at our
Shanghai factory to support all our product market sectors.
"The continuing development of relationships at Government and
industry level is very important to our expanding business in the
market."
WMG is an academic multi-disciplinary unit at the University of
Warwick and was established by Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya
in 1980 to reinvigorate British manufacturing through the
application of cutting-edge research and knowledge transfer.
Starting with one office, the Professor and his secretary, the
group has grown into a global force to be reckoned with. It now
employs more than 300 full-time staff with a further 150
associates, who are all dedicated to developing innovative research
projects and sharing their expertise with a wide range of
businesses and individuals through collaboration, knowledge
transfer schemes, postgraduate study and bespoke executive
training. WMG has just been awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize
for Higher and Further Education in recognition of its sustained
contribution to global education in manufacturing.
WMG's research innovations are exploited widely in sectors
including automotive, aerospace, construction, ICT and increasingly
in healthcare. The Chinese Ambassador viewed a range of research
activity, including the WorldF3rst racing car, the first Formula 3
racing car designed and made from sustainable and renewable
materials, which was recently highlighted by TIME Magazine as one
of the 50 best inventions of the year.
WMG runs teaching and research centres in the UK, China, India,
Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand and provides expert advice to many
overseas governments and companies. Over 24,000 individuals from
companies in the UK and internationally, including over 2,000 in
China, have been involved in WMG's education programmes.
Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya said: "I was delighted to see
the Ambassador's keen interest in science and technology and to
hear her comments about the two countries working together in this
important area."
Doug Mahoney, UK Trade & Investment's International Trade
Director for the West Midlands, said: "I was very pleased to
welcome Madame Fu Ying to our region and showcase the best of
British manufacturing in Coventry and Warwickshire.
"China is a hugely important business partner for the UK.
Despite the present economic downturn, its economy is continuing to
expand and develop, with the result that the demand for energy
resources, infrastructure, technology and goods and services is
still growing very rapidly."