Precision gear industry prospers in Nanjing

Nanjing, Nov. 25, 2004 (CENS)--Thanks to the implementation of a privatization policy, mainland China has seen its gear industry regain momentum, especially in the Nanjing municipality over the past several years.

In 1940s, Nanjing was the production center of agricultural machines, establishing China Agricultural Machines Co. under the U.S. aids. In 1950s, the company was converted into a state-run machine shop to produce such machine tools as turret lathes, CNC (computerized numerically controlled) lathes and gears, and got financial aids from the former Soviet Union.

In 1980, the machine shop was renamed as Nanjing Machine Tools Co. to focus on the production of automated turret lathes with annual production value reaching 200 million renminbi.

Ever since its establishment, the firm has been hit by two energy crises and faced with the emergence of market economy. To enhance its competitiveness, the company introduced private funds and was renamed as Nanjing CNC Machine Tool Co. four years ago. At that time, the company created a subsidiary--Chinkoerh Gear to focus on production and processing of gears. At present, Chinkoerh enjoys an annualized 20% growth in sales, with major export outlets including the U.S. and France.

Due to the backup of specialists in the machine-tool field, Chinkoerh is capable of rolling out high-speed, high-precision mechanical gears that boast excellent performance of 16,000 revolving per minute, 60% higher than that of common gears. Chinkoerh has transferred manufacturing skill to a subsidiary--Nanjing Yangsheng Machinery, which now has rolled out three gear models, including 1.5875, 1.6933 and 1.9592. Nanjing Yangsheng noted its high-precision gears are environment-friendly and adopted by the world-renowned air conditioner producer Carrier Airconditioning Co. of the U.S.

Nanjing Yangsheng recently said it has received orders to keep its production lines busy for at least six months. The company currently is capable of rolling out 5,000 gears per year. The company noted in spring next year it would establish a subsidiary--Yungchin Machinery Co. to set up a production facility in the high-tech industrial park of the Nanjing University of Science and Technology.