Greenfield - A handshake late Thursday could bring big growth to Indiana from China.
Governor Mitch Daniels, EnerDel and a Chinese automotive firm announced a joint venture at EnerDel''s facilities near Mt. Comfort Road. The company signed a letter of intent to create a joint venture with Wanxiang, the largest auto parts producer and supplier in China.
The venture will begin producing battery systems for that company''s customers in light and heavy duty markets in China.
Wanxiang is China''s second-biggest company, with 30,000 employees and $10 billion in annual revenue. It could also mean EnerDel could ramp up from 1,500 jobs that were previously announced to about 3,000 jobs in the next 6-7 years.
"There is no question in my mind that China today is the single-most important market for this product worldwide. Over the next decade, we believe there will be demand for as many as one million electric battery packs for both passengers and heavy duty applications," said EnerDel''s Charles Gassheimer. "This puts the total market opportunity for lithium ion batteries in the Chinese market in the tens of billions of dollars."
"We have to understand each other, we have to help each other, we have to assist each other and here is a wonderful example, wonderful case, between Indiana and Guangzhou, between China and America, between EnerDel and Wanxiang," said Guogiang Yang, Council General of China.
Daniels pointed out the seed for the deal might very well have been planted decades ago by then-Governor Robert Orr, who left a special Indiana memento with the head of Wanxiang. When Daniels visited on his Asia trip, company officials brought out the item, which had been sitting on the company head''s desk.
"He told me that he''d been waiting 22 years for Indiana to come see him again," Daniels said. "I said, ''Well, we''re here and we''ll be here again and again. Indiana is here to stay now''."
"The agreement that we''re signing here today is proof again that if you build a better mouse trap, or in this case, a better battery, the world will indeed find a way to your doorstep," said Gassheimer. "Smart companies know that the right answer is not how you compete with China, instead, the question is how do we compete in China."
"We appreciate the honorable Governor Daniels [and] his contribution to make this joint venture agreement happen," said Pingyi Li, Wanxiang Group.