Skyjack Opens New Asia-Pacific Headquarters in Tianjin, China
Linamar Corporation’s Skyjack division officially opened its newest facility with a ceremony on Thursday, March 21st in Tianjin, China. The 35,000 square-meter facility is to become the headquarters for Skyjack’s Asia-Pacific operation, representing a commitment to the now substantial Chinese aerial work platform market and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. The initial stages of the new facility will focus on DC scissor production.
“We see exciting growth opportunities for Skyjack globally, it is what led us to increase our capacity in North America, Europe and China in the last two years,” said Linda Hasenfratz, executive chair of the board and CEO of Linamar Corp. (Skyjack’s parent company). “For Skyjack, our increased manufacturing capacity represents some of the largest investments in their history and we believe this will be instrumental in meeting our customers’ needs globally. With this increase in capacity, we especially look forward to improved market share and competitiveness in China and the larger Asia-Pacific region.”
“It is wonderful to welcome Chan Tran, who will head up the team focusing on sales, production, product support and new product development,” said Charlie Patterson, president of Skyjack. “We are very proud of our new facility and look forward to continued growth and prosperity in the region.”
At the opening ceremony more than 100 customers joined Linamar and Skyjack leadership in welcoming local Chinese dignitaries including Shan Zefeng, governor of Tianjin Binhai New Area; Yin Xiaofeng, president of Tianjin TAEA Administrative Committee, and Zu Bin, commissioner of Tianjin TAEA Customs.
“It was wonderful to see so many customers here demonstrating their support,” added Chan Tran, Asia-Pacific vice president of operations, Skyjack. “We look forward to working together and striving to exceed expectations.”
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.