Milan/Shanghai – The Sogefi Group, development partner and original equipment supplier to the global automotive industry, has strengthened its market position with the signature of another joint venture agreement in China. Following their already successfully working joint ventures within the suspensions division, Sogefi is responding to their customers needs for local production of filters and filtering systems in China, too. A corresponding agreement with the Chinese filter manufacturer Zhe Jiang Universe Filter Co. Ltd. has been signed on May, 29th at the group´s headquarters in Milan.

With the foundation of Shanghai Sogefi Filtration Co. Ltd., as the new joint company is called, Sogefi has expanded its presence in the Chinese market, where it has been active since 1997. Under the operative leadership of Managing Director Yann Chen, development engineers and product managers are engaged in building up the company's local business relationships to customers such as Peugeot, Ford, Nissan, Mazda, Sinotruck, Geely, Valeo and TI Automotive.

The construction of a new filter factory in Shanghai is getting up to speed and is expected to start production at the end of the year with an oil filter for the Ford Focus, Ford Mondeo and Mazda 6 in order to achieve an output volume of 1.5 million filters in the medium-term. In excess of this, the  production capacity will be continued to increase rapidly and expanded to include air filters.

Other activities, aimed to increase the presence of the Sogefi Group in Asia, are currently focused on India and South Korea where efforts are being made to build up industrial and commercial business relations.

Zhe Jiang Universe Filter Co. Ltd.
Based in Shanghai, the company was founded in 1993 and produces around 50 million air, fuel, oil and cabin air filters for the automotive industry per year. The main part of the production of Universe Filter is supplied to the international aftermarket. The OE customers include Sinotruck and Geely, both companies belonging to the local Chinese automobile industry. The complete production site covers an area of around 60,000 m² and is certified in accordance with ISO 9000 and ISO TS 16949.