The demand in the digital factory division with industrial automation is particularly high.
(Photo: IMAGO/Future Image)
Munich Siemens is planning a new automation factory in Singapore. The plant is intended to serve the growth markets in Southeast Asia. The group confirmed the information from industry circles to the Handelsblatt. Details of the factory of the “Digital Industries” division would be presented with the partners on Thursday. CEO Roland Busch is currently on a trip to Asia.
According to industry circles, Siemens intends to invest a low three-digit million amount. Busch had recently emphasized that he wanted to increase resilience in the manufacturing networks. They should become more resilient to global upheavals or possible supply chain problems such as in the corona pandemic.
In years past, an insider said, demand in countries like India, Vietnam and Thailand would likely have been served from China. But in the meantime, Busch’s euphoria about China has subsided. The CEO repeatedly emphasizes the importance of diversification and resilience. Siemens recently announced the construction of a train plant in the USA.
Digital sales in China are expected to increase sharply
At the same time, Siemens wants to continue growing in China and increase capacities for the domestic market. The internal “Marco Polo” project, which the Handelsblatt reported on, envisages doubling sales in the core “Digital Industries” division by 2025.
At Siemens, business is currently going well. In the second quarter of 2022/23 (September 30), sales increased by a comparable 15 percent to 19.4 billion euros. For the year as a whole, the group is now anticipating an increase in revenue of up to eleven percent. This could bring the group back to around 80 billion euros in sales – as much as before the spin-off of the low-margin energy technology.
Siemens is trying to become more independent from China. Amberg could become the blueprint for Singapore.
(Photo: Siemens)
The result: Siemens is reaching its capacity limits in many places. “With the growth that we are doing, you can imagine that one or the other factory will fill up,” said Busch at the group’s annual general meeting in February.
Siemens is the world market leader in industrial automation
The demand in the digital factory division with industrial automation is particularly high. Siemens is already the world market leader here, but has recently been able to gain additional market share. In the second quarter of 2022/23, revenues increased by a comparable 23 percent to 5.5 billion euros. The Simatic technology, which is installed in countless plants worldwide, is currently produced in Amberg and Fürth as well as in Chengdu, China.
In November 2022, the Siemens CEO attended the 17th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business with Economics Minister Robert Habeck, among others.
(Photo: dpa)
The new plant in Chengdu, about which the “Wirtschaftswoche” also reported, should be as modern as the Siemens flagship factory in Amberg. It should work particularly energy-efficiently and be highly automated.
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