Ilkka Herlin, chairman of the board, Cargotec (left) and Wu Jian, chairman of Jiangsu Rainbow Heavy Industries (right) shaking hands at the signing ceremony (Cargotec and RHI employees in the background).

Cargotec is expanding its presence in China after receiving regulatory approvals to establish Rainbow Cargotec Industries Co Ltd (RCI), a joint venture with Jiangsu Rainbow Heavy Industries Co Ltd.

Cargotec will invest EUR30 million (USD38 million) in the joint venture and will own 49% of the company. Plans for the joint venture were announced in July 2011.

Cargotec vice president of communications and marketing Anne Westersund tells Forkliftaction.com News she can't disclose "other Chinese joint venture and expansion plans" as the company is publicly listed. However, she emphasises the group's strategy to grow its business in emerging markets through acquisitions, partnerships and organic growth.

"We have a global presence and local services in 600 locations in 120 countries. We expect to achieve growth by expanding our presence and offering, especially in the emerging markets and in the service business," she says.

RCI will build a manufacturing facility in Taicang in Jiangsu province, about 100 km (62 mi.) from Shanghai, to increase Cargotec's delivery capacity. The foundation stone for the facility will be laid in June.

Production is slated to start in two years. Westersund says it is too early to reveal the production capacity or the number of employees that will be hired. The CEO of RCI has also not been announced.

Asked about Cargotec's near- and long-term goals for China, Westersund says the company will continue to strengthen its presence in Asia, especially in China, to create growth globally and to boost its capacity.

The joint venture will focus on ship-to-shore cranes, rubber-tyred gantry cranes, rail mounted gantry cranes and marine specialty cranes for the Chinese and global markets.