Firth Rixson Moves Into Modern Ring Facility in China

Sheffield, UK - Firth Rixson Limited broke ground for a modern seamless-forged-ring facility in China in October, 2004. The Chinese venture, a wholly owned subsidiary of Firth Rixson Limited, is now housed in a 50,000 square foot facility and is named Firth Rixson Aerospace Components (Suzhou) Ltd. "We will move our first piece of major equipment in next week," said Armand F. Lauzon, Jr. the firm's CEO, "make our first articles in September and be in commercial production by the end of the year."

Firth Rixson's facility is located in a duty-free trade zone within the Suzhou Industrial Park, near Shanghai. This area is rapidly becoming an offshore production center for a number of well-recognized aerospace suppliers, primes, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

According to Lauzon, the location offers benefits that go well beyond tax-exempt import and export privileges. "The Suzhou Industrial Park is easily accessible from Shanghai and has a modern infrastructure and world-class facilities. Our venture has benefited from good timing, as aerospace and other sectors continue their recovery from an extended down-turn. Our ability to begin production in China by year-end will allow us to better rebalance our global capacity to support customers at a time when demand for product is surging everywhere."

Simon Ormerod is Project Manager for FRL and oversees construction in China. He says that the first phase of the venture, which targeted completion of the complex foundation, provisions for utilities and enclosing walls and roof, has proceeded on schedule. "We have built a thoroughly modern facility, with reinforced, deeply sunk pits for our heavier pieces of equipment, and a range of environmental and safety features that are as advanced as anything now being built in North America or Europe."

Firth Rixson, the first Western provider of seamless forged rings to set up shop in China, says it is keeping pace with other leading suppliers and OEMs. "We have received a strong endorsement from major customers, who want world-class manufacturing support co-located with their ventures in China," says Alan Erickon, Group VP Sales and Marketing. "These customers appreciate having a nearby supply chain that can provide the offset credits that our Chinese customers seek."

Firth Rixson Limited (www.firthrixson.com) was formed in 2003 from a merger of UK-based Firth Rixson and US-based Forged Metals, Inc. The firm acquired Schlosser Forge Co. in the US in 2004. It is majority owned by The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm. Firth Rixson serves customers worldwide in market sectors such as aerospace, defense, power generation, transportation, petrochemical, medical and general industrial. Firth Rixson owns 15 operating facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.

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