A CASE HISTORY FROM ONE
OF THE 650 FOREIGN COMPANIES
LOCATED IN PIEMONTE
Mr. Lou Tik is the General Manager of JAC-Italy Design Center, with more than 10 years experience in the car design field in Europe. He came to Torino in 2005 to establish the JAC design center, which he has led since then.
Jianghuai Automobile Co. Ltd. (JAC) was founded in 1964 and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2001. Today it ranks among the top 10 Chinese auto industries. JAC, that owns a nationallevel R&D Center in Hefei, opened China's first overseas R&D Center in Torino, Italy, in 2005, and a second one in Tokyo, Japan, in 2006.
Which were the reasons that led your company to locate in Torino Piemonte?
We came to Italy because it is the strongest nation for design, and the Torino area has an unparalleled automotive design infrastructure. In Torino we have created our first R&D centre abroad, because of the strong competencies of this region in automotive design and engineering. In addition, working in Torino gives us the great opportunity to co-operate closely with some of the bestknown companies worldwide.
How did you get to know about the quality of research and design in Piemonte?
JAC already collaborated with several Italian companies such as Pininfarina, Idea, FPT etc., and was fully aware that in Piemonte, particularly in the Torino area, there is a unique concentration of expertise and skills. We knew that the region's know-how encompasses all automotive sectors, combining traditional creativity and the most advanced technologies for product and process engineering.
Were you supported in the first stages of your location here?
ITP Invest in Torino Piemonte, the regional agency for investment attraction, gave us consistent support in the start-up phase of our activity, and continued to play an active role in our relations with universities, government bodies, and sector operators. Through ITP in fact we have established relations with the Politecnico, with which we have a long-term professional and technological collaboration, and From Concept to Car, the project of the Torino Chamber of Commerce, that offered valuable support by putting us in contact with companies in the industry. In 2006 we were awarded the Piemonte Greenfield Prize for the most significant foreign investment of the year.
If you had to express a judgment about your experience in Piemonte, what would you say?
A very good experience, I would say. Most of the designers our company has found here have had work experience in famous style design companies and their experiences have speeded up the process of fitting our company into the design environment. Being able to count on highly qualified personnel in a region like Piemonte at the forefront of the automotive sector has been a great opportunity for JAC in striving to grow more in China and the rest of the world.
Mr. Lou Tik is the General Manager of JAC-Italy Design Center, with more than 10 years experience in the car design field in Europe. He came to Torino in 2005 to establish the JAC design center, which he has led since then.
Jianghuai Automobile Co. Ltd. (JAC) was founded in 1964 and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2001. Today it ranks among the top 10 Chinese auto industries. JAC, that owns a nationallevel R&D Center in Hefei, opened China's first overseas R&D Center in Torino, Italy, in 2005, and a second one in Tokyo, Japan, in 2006.
Which were the reasons that led your company to locate in Torino Piemonte?
We came to Italy because it is the strongest nation for design, and the Torino area has an unparalleled automotive design infrastructure. In Torino we have created our first R&D centre abroad, because of the strong competencies of this region in automotive design and engineering. In addition, working in Torino gives us the great opportunity to co-operate closely with some of the bestknown companies worldwide.
How did you get to know about the quality of research and design in Piemonte?
JAC already collaborated with several Italian companies such as Pininfarina, Idea, FPT etc., and was fully aware that in Piemonte, particularly in the Torino area, there is a unique concentration of expertise and skills. We knew that the region's know-how encompasses all automotive sectors, combining traditional creativity and the most advanced technologies for product and process engineering.
Were you supported in the first stages of your location here?
ITP Invest in Torino Piemonte, the regional agency for investment attraction, gave us consistent support in the start-up phase of our activity, and continued to play an active role in our relations with universities, government bodies, and sector operators. Through ITP in fact we have established relations with the Politecnico, with which we have a long-term professional and technological collaboration, and From Concept to Car, the project of the Torino Chamber of Commerce, that offered valuable support by putting us in contact with companies in the industry. In 2006 we were awarded the Piemonte Greenfield Prize for the most significant foreign investment of the year.
If you had to express a judgment about your experience in Piemonte, what would you say?
A very good experience, I would say. Most of the designers our company has found here have had work experience in famous style design companies and their experiences have speeded up the process of fitting our company into the design environment. Being able to count on highly qualified personnel in a region like Piemonte at the forefront of the automotive sector has been a great opportunity for JAC in striving to grow more in China and the rest of the world.
Multinationals
in the province of Torino
Jianghuai Automobile Co. Ltd. (JAC), a publicly-listed company in the Shanghai Stock Market founded in 1964, has been a comprehensive automaker with full-line independent brand vehicles in China, including light, medium and heavy-duty trucks, MPVs, SRVs, sedans, bus chassises, buses, engineering machinery, engines, gearboxes and other key components. After 40 years of development, JAC has achieved an annual production capacity of more than 500,000 units, and ranks among the top 10 Chinese auto industries.
The JAC-Tongji Tongjie Automobile Research & Development Center was established with Tongji Tongjie Science and Technology Co. Ltd. and the JAC Automotive Hefei University of Technology Institute with Hefei University of Technology, and founded the China's first overseas R&D centre in Torino, Italy, in 2005, and a second one in Tokyo, Japan, in 2006. With investments going beyond 5 billion RMB (over US$ 640 million) in these facilities, JAC assures topnotch design, advanced management methods, and modern manufacturing systems supported by IT.
In 2009 sales revenue reached US$ 3 billion, with a cumulative increase of 56%. A leading light commercial vehicle manufacturer in China, JAC has been No. 1 in export sales for eight consecutive years. With its thrust to become not only China's but one of the world's leading automotive producers, JAC has expanded its network to major international markets such as Russia, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, and the Middle East.
Jianghuai Automobile Co. Ltd. (JAC), a publicly-listed company in the Shanghai Stock Market founded in 1964, has been a comprehensive automaker with full-line independent brand vehicles in China, including light, medium and heavy-duty trucks, MPVs, SRVs, sedans, bus chassises, buses, engineering machinery, engines, gearboxes and other key components. After 40 years of development, JAC has achieved an annual production capacity of more than 500,000 units, and ranks among the top 10 Chinese auto industries.
The JAC-Tongji Tongjie Automobile Research & Development Center was established with Tongji Tongjie Science and Technology Co. Ltd. and the JAC Automotive Hefei University of Technology Institute with Hefei University of Technology, and founded the China's first overseas R&D centre in Torino, Italy, in 2005, and a second one in Tokyo, Japan, in 2006. With investments going beyond 5 billion RMB (over US$ 640 million) in these facilities, JAC assures topnotch design, advanced management methods, and modern manufacturing systems supported by IT.
In 2009 sales revenue reached US$ 3 billion, with a cumulative increase of 56%. A leading light commercial vehicle manufacturer in China, JAC has been No. 1 in export sales for eight consecutive years. With its thrust to become not only China's but one of the world's leading automotive producers, JAC has expanded its network to major international markets such as Russia, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, and the Middle East.