Siemens Medical Solutions Group, one of the world's largest medical equipment providers, officially launched its Research and Development (R&D) and manufacturing base for X-ray tube housing assembly Thursday in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu Province.

Located in Siemens X-ray Vacuum Technology Ltd, Wuxi (SXVT), established in June last year, the new R&D and manufacturing base is the only Siemens facility of its kind outside of Germany to focus on X-ray tube housing assemblies.

With a registered capital of 45 million yuan (US$5.6 million), the new base is expected to reach an annual production capacity of 4,000 to 5,000 sets of X-ray tube housing assembly, which is a core component of CT machines and X-ray systems in the medical engineering fields.

Targeted both the Chinese and global markets, the Wuxi base is expected to achieve a return on investment within two to three years. The sales volume of the base will show a 20 percent rise in the same period, says F. Steven Feinberg, president of Siemens Medical Solutions Group and vice-president of Siemens Ltd China.

"Establishing this new base proves once again the importance of China for Siemens and realizes Siemens' strategy in China. The new base will not only build up the competitiveness of Siemens in the local medical system markets, but also enhance our capabilities in the expanding global market," said Wolfgang Knuepfer, president of Vacuum Technology Division of Siemens Medical Solutions.

Siemens Medical Solutions Group employs approximately 31,000 staff worldwide and has set up a large number of manufacturing bases in Europe, the United States and Asia.

(China Daily October 29, 2004)