On February 17, the 2022 Strategic Signing Ceremony between GS and Bekaert Group was held in the Zijin Hall of GS. Zhang Gaorong, Vice President of GS, and Zhu Hongzhen, Vice President of Bekaert China, signed the agreement on behalf of both parties. GS Chairman Gu Cui, Executive Vice President Gu Yahong, Chief Engineer Sun Xuyang, and Bekaert Asia Senior Vice President Adam Touhig attended the signing ceremony.
Before the ceremony, the two parties held a discussion on the sustainable development of the tire industry, the development of green manufacturing, digital intelligence, and internationalization under China's "dual carbon" target.
GS and Bekaert renewed the "Strategic Cooperation Agreement" at the meeting. On the basis of the existing good cooperation, the two parties will give full play to the advantages of each party, realize the strategic collaboration of the whole value chain, and promote lean management. Further, the companies will jointly participate in the research and development of new products, promote the application and development of new materials and new technologies, lay a solid foundation for breakthroughs in common key technologies in the industry, and help the rapid growth of China's tire market.
As the world's leading manufacturer of steel cords, Bekaert has a century-old development history. It has set a benchmark in industry technology R&D and product quality management and won its partners' unanimous trust and recognition. As a core strategic supplier, Bekaert has established a long-term strategic partnership with GS over the years and has carried out a series of cooperation, including the TMS manufacturing system project, which has achieved remarkable results. In recent years, the top management of GS has visited the Bekaert steel cord factory many times. The two parties held special discussions on safety management, quality management, HR management, on-site management, and lean operation, which laid a solid foundation for GS to implement lean activities fully.
2021 will be a year full of challenges for the tire industry. Still, the development pattern of domestic and international “dual circulations” will bring new opportunities to the Chinese tire industry. Relying on Bekaert’s strengths in HR, R&D, marketing, and resources accumulated by Bekaert's global vision, international management, and localized thinking, GS develops an in-depth alliance with Bekaert, which will contribute to the healthy and rapid development of both parties in the future. Coming into force in 2022, RCEP will bring considerable benefits to the member countries. In the future, the Asia-Pacific region will not only be the world's tire manufacturing and raw material supply center but also become a significant growth area for the global tire market. GS has been actively implementing the 5X Strategy to accelerate international development, whose first overseas production base in Thailand has maintained remarkable growth in production and sales since it was put into operation.
Based on the successful experience of the Thai factory, GS's second overseas production base, the Cambodia project, with an investment of 300 million US dollars, held a groundbreaking ceremony in the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone in Cambodia in January 2022. It is set to produce 5 million semi-steel radial tires and 900,000 all-steel radial tires annually, with an estimated average annual revenue of $ 328 million. This is also the first $100 million project invested by Jiangsu Province in RCEP member countries after the RCEP came into effect. GS will take advantage of the three major production bases in China, Thailand, and Cambodia to form an international development pattern with complementary benefits and sharable resources.
Over the years, to realize the brand globalization strategy, other than introducing global high-end production equipment and advanced technologies, GS has established strategic relations with world-renowned suppliers such as Bekaert, Cabot, Gemas, and other world-renowned suppliers. As a result, a high-quality and efficient global high-end procurement and supply platform has been established to control product quality from the source directly.
Facing new opportunities and challenges under the trend of tire industry transformation and upgrading, GS will continue to accelerate technological innovation. Additionally, the company will join hands with more excellent industry partners, create a "supply-chain-based" industry alliance, and explore new cooperation models. Further, GS will transform R&D results into fundamental productive forces and jointly promote the technological progress and structural upgrade of China's tire industry to achieve rapid development!
