Siemens to promote innovative industry technology in Xi'an

German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG has set up a development center of industry technology in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, which is expected to promote industrial upgrading and transformation in western China.

Siemens unveiled the center on July 12, eight months after it signed a deal with local authorities in the Xi'an Hi-Tech Industries Development Zone to boost local technological development.

"We hope our cooperation with Siemens will help forge Xi'an as a powerhouse of technology and boost industrial upgrading and transformation in the city and western China as a whole," said Yang Renhua, director of the zone, when the deal was inked in November 2017. 

The center, which is now in place, will further integrate its whole value chain network from innovation, R&D, engineering and services to sales in Xi’an and the broader western region, facilitating transformation of industries, said Siemens.

Based on the company's leading technologies in electrification, automation and digitalization, the center will be committed to technology development and application, product R&D, engineering design, technical support and services in various industries.

"The center will help provide local enterprises with solutions including customized engineering solutions and industry-specific digital enterprise implementation plans," said Siemens China in a statement.

Lin Bin, executive vice-president of Siemens China and general manager of the Process Industries and Drives Division, said the technology center in Xi’an is a measure of Siemens' ‘100-Year Commitment’ to supporting China’s manufacturing sector and also a step in arranging Siemens’ layout to ensure close proximity to customers.

Siemens said Xi'an provides an ample reserve of talents and bright market prospects for digital technology innovation and application.

"Innovation is the DNA of Siemens. Innovation has driven the development of digital technologies and talent is the source of innovation," said Wang Haibin, executive vice-president of Siemens China and general manager of the Digital Factory Division.

It has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Xi’an Areospace-Huayang Mechanical &Electrical Equipment Co to work in flexographic printing equipment, decorative material equipment, precision coating equipment, and new energy and new materials equipment, as well as in the newly-developed models and new business areas.

"Siemens is willing to work together with local partners to promote innovation to participate in national and regional innovation projects to support ‘made in China’,” said Wang.

With over 32,000 employees, Siemens is one of the largest foreign-invested companies in China. By fiscal 2017, it had 21 R&D hubs, more than 4,500 R&D and engineering staff, and around 12,000 active patents and patent applications.