CHINA: LEADING GLOBAL GROWTH - Lang Communications

The international magazine of the GEA Group Issue 06 August 2008
The international magazine of the GEA Group Issue 06 August 2008
China:
leading global growth
Biomimetics Robotic milking Surf’s up
Biomimetics
Robotic milking
Surf’s up

10
STEVE JORDAN EXAMINES HOW THE CONTINUING
INCREDIBLE GROWTH OF THE CHINESE
ECONOMY, ALLIED WITH THIS SUMMER’S BEIJING
OLYMPICS, MEANS THE WORLD’S EYES ARE
FOCUSING ON CHINA LIKE NEVER BEFORE.

GENERATE MAGAZINE ISSUE 06 11

s China’s huge population becomes
more affluent, the appetite of its
aspiring millions for western-style
consumer goods and products is increasing
at a rate rarely seen in economic history.
Chinese people want cars, washing
machines, cookers, soft drinks and beer,
to name just a few things – and they
want them now. The country’s booming
economy and its extraordinary demands
for power offer massive opportunities.
A good reason to look at some of the
biggest growth areas in the Chinese
economy and examine the painstaking
preparations the country has made to host
the biggest sporting show on earth.
China’s economy is the second largest in the
world behind the United States with a GDP of
USD 7 trillion (2007) in terms of purchasing
power and third largest in the world
following Japan with a GDP of USD 3.42
trillion. With 20 per cent of the world’s
population living in China and with its
enormous natural resources, the country’s
economy is set to continue the massive
growth seen over the past 25 years.
Although China is still the world’s largest
producer of rice and a major provider of
other crops such as wheat, tobacco and
cotton, the growth of the economy has been
achieved by a gradual shift from agriculture
to engineering and technology. Low-cost
labor is probably still China’s greatest
industrial asset, although investment in
highly sophisticated production equipment
is on the increase and will reinforce the
country’s position as the world’s most
successful industrial superpower.
12

...the growth of the economy
has been achieved by a gradual
shift from agriculture to
engineering and technology...
Round-type electrostatic precipitator for converter gas cleaning
and gas recovery.
GEA and the steel industry in china
GEA Bischoff GmbH, headquartered in Essen is a global operating
company active in the environmental protection technology area.
Drawing on an extensive technology range, the company plans
and builds systems for clean air. GEA Bischoff is integrated into
GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft as its Emission Control Division.
GEA Bischoff is currently processing a number of orders from
the Chinese steel industry. This mainly entails supplying
gas cleaning and gas recovery plants using the LT (Lurgi
Thyssen) steel gas process. This offers customers
the future benefits of waste water-free processes in
connection with energy savings and low operating costs.
The potential for forward-thinking companies
like the GEA Group in this rapidly-growing
market is dramatic, as a quick look at
some statistics shows. Eighty per cent of
China’s power comes from coal and there
are currently 544 new coal-fired power
stations planned, so there are clearly
major opportunities for companies with
the right technological credentials.
Per capita consumption of dairy products has
risen by an average of 25 per cent since 1997
creating huge opportunities for all processrelated
GEA companies. In 2006 China’s beer
market grew nearly 15 per cent, the third
consecutive year of double-digit volume
growth, with predictions showing that China
will soon produce more beer than the US to
serve its increasingly affluent population:
GEA’s brewing technology is a major sector
for the group. The pharmaceutical market
in China is booming too as companies try
to reduce the cost of bringing new drugs to
market, offering unrivalled opportunities
to GEA’s new Pharma Systems Division.
Put simply, the increasing wealth of the
population and its associated buying power
make China the place to be doing business.
And the race to be part of this extraordinary
economic success is well and truly on.
GENERATE MAGAZINE ISSUE 06 13