LU-VE to strengthen its presence in China

Continuing its Asian expansion, Italian multinational heat exchanger manufacturer LU-VE Group has announced the enlargement of its production plant in China.

Currently located in Changshu (Jiangsu Province), the company’s strategic plan envisages displacement to a bigger plant in Tianmen (Hubei Province), which will become operational in 2019. The plant will employ at least 70% of the employees currently working in Changsu. 

The new plant, called LU-VE Tianmen, will be significantly bigger than the current one, passing from 7,000 m² to 19,000 m². It will be almost totally devoted to assembly and production. A further expansion of another 10,000 m² is expected for 2021, underlining the Italian multinational’s strategic interest in the Chinese market. 

“China will soon become the biggest market for the HVAC&R sector,” argues LU-VE CEO Marco Liberali. Another important reason to invest in China is “the increasing interest for the environment, and then for natural refrigerants” recently shown by the central government, Liberali explains.

The displacement to Hubei Province will allow LU-VE both to be closer to its Chinese clients and to benefit from fiscal advantages (e.g. ultra-low rents for five years) granted by the Chinese authorities in the framework of the ‘Belt & Road Initiative’, which aims to attract foreign investment to China’s western and central regions.

Asia is an important market for LU-VE. In 2016 it bought India’s Spirotech Heat Exchangers, which has since reported increased turnover and profits. In July, LU-VE participated in Italy’s commercial missions to Georgia and Azerbaijan, in the spirit of investigating further possible investments.

LU-VE is a major producer of heat exchangers, with 11 production plants in seven different countries in Europe and Asia. It is headquartered in Uboldo, in the northern Italian region of Lombardy.