Austrian transport and logistics provider Gebrüder Weiss has established automotive logistics joint venture in China with Jilin International Transport (JIT). The company, in which each partner owns 50%, is operating under the name Gebrüder Weiss Automotive Logistics. Operations began this month and as well as handling land, air and sea freight the company will also provide warehouse services, production logistics, distribution and customs clearance.
The joint venture employs 200 people across four sites.
“Gebrüder Weiss is a long-standing partner to the European automotive industry and is present in numerous Asian markets under the Weiss-Röhlig banner,” said Heinz Senger-Weiss, board member of Gebrüder Weiss. “Together with our Chinese partner, we shall now be consolidating strong areas of expertise and supporting our customers as they continue to grow their business in China.”
The company is being headed by JIT’s Xiangdong Huang as managing director and joint owner.
“The western knowhow of Gebrüder Weiss will enable us to further expand our strong position in the Chinese automotive sector,” he said.
Senger-Weiss and Xiangdong both sit on the board of directors along with Yongquan Chen and Jeffrey Yang, also from Gebrüder Weiss, as well as JIT’s Hao Tian.
Alongside the company’s head office in Shanghai, its operations will be mainly concentrated in Changchun, one of China’s major industrial centres. It will have further sites in Chengdu and Foshan. which are also emerging Chinese automotive industry clusters.
“Our goal is to achieve strong yet sustainable growth at all our locations and to establish Gebrüder Weiss as a highly professional logistics provider in this demanding sector,” said Senger-Weiss.
Gebrüder Weiss has been operating in China for over 20 years in collaboration with Weiss-Röhlig. It has 16 sites offering transport and logistics services focusing on air and sea freight.
Meanwhile, Jilin International Transport Corporation (JIT) has been active as a logistics provider in the Chinese automotive sector for 14 years. In addition to its workforce, the company will be contributing approximately 30,000 square metres of logistics space to the joint venture.
