Skip to main content

Kapsch to close Chinese factory and move work back to Vienna

Kapsch is to close its Chinese factory and produce its railway radio modules in its Vienna plant, which will be expanded. Although it will be five per cent more expensive to produce the products in Austria than China, wages are increasing in China and if the yuan is revalued the Chinese factory will no longer be able to compete with Austria. In addition, producing the parts in Vienna will mean that the company is able to react to client demands faster; a container takes up to six weeks to get from China to
March 23, 2012 Read time: 1 min
81 Kapsch is to close its Chinese factory and produce its railway radio modules in its Vienna plant, which will be expanded. Although it will be five per cent more expensive to produce the products in Austria than China, wages are increasing in China and if the yuan is revalued the Chinese factory will no longer be able to compete with Austria. In addition, producing the parts in Vienna will mean that the company is able to react to client demands faster; a container takes up to six weeks to get from China to Austria.

The return is part of a wider trend; almost half of German companies which had moved production abroad have already brought it back, according to the Fraunhofer Institut für System- und Innovationsforschung.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Financing the US road infrastructure – road user charging?
    February 2, 2012
    In the US, the National Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission's report to Congress will state that a national, distance-based charging is the only long-term solution to the country's infrastructure financing problems. The Commission's Chair, Rob Atkinson, talks to ITS International
  • Financing the US road infrastructure – road user charging?
    February 2, 2012
    In the US, the National Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission's report to Congress will state that a national, distance-based charging is the only long-term solution to the country's infrastructure financing problems. The Commission's Chair, Rob Atkinson, talks to ITS International
  • Panasonic building utopian society in Tokyo suburb
    September 9, 2014
    Working toward a “Better Life, Better World”, Panasonic is showing off a line of social conscience products and solutions at 2014 ITS World Congress, including a side-view camera for vehicles and an ambitious planned community it is building in a Tokyo suburb. The side-view camera is already installed on more than 1 million Honda models in Asia and North America, according to Asuka Horita, a senior coordinator for Panasonic’s automotive module devices division, and effectively replaces side-view mirrors wit
  • Automotive vehicle to everything (V2X) communications market 2016-2026
    June 20, 2016
    Research by Visiongain claims that the worldwide demand for connected cars is increasing at a rapid pace. Last year, the amount of customers willing to change the car brand for better connectivity has almost doubled. The willingness to pay the subscription for connected services went up by 10% in the same period. Chinese consumers are especially excited about car connectivity; more than half are willing to change their car for better connectivity. Visiongain assesses that sales of new passenger cars equi