News

Saft Group to Open New Manufacturing Plant in China

October 04, 2004 by Jeff Shepard

Saft (France), a telecom battery system specialist, announced that it is to invest in a new manufacturing facility in China. The new plant, which is additional capacity for the group, will manufacture and assemble two key battery technologies. The first is primary lithium batteries, which are currently used in electricity meters in China, and for water and gas meters. The second market is rail, with projects currently on-going for several cities, which use Saft's nickel-cadmium batteries.

The initial investment will be €5 million and Saft sees huge potential in the Chinese market for specialized batteries. The group is continuing to expand and invest worldwide in its primary lithium technologies for industrial applications.

Saft CEO John Searle commented, "Opening this new manufacturing plant in China is a logical step for Saft. We have shipped more than 20 million cells to China over the last three years, and demand is growing there for high added-value products such as ours. It is our strategy to manufacture as close to our customers as we can in order to offer them the best possible service."

Manufacturing will begin in early 2006 with an initial 150 employees.