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the new facility will boost Wolverine’ s Chinese presence even further, with six dynamometers set to be installed to increase the efficiency and capacity in its brake testing business.
“ We already have a sales office in Shanghai and the manufacturing plant in Changshu, but in Q1 this year, we inaugurated an R & D lab in Changshu, China. The Chinese market is really fast – there are so many OEMs and the volumes are huge – so it needs an expert partner like Wolverine that can find a solution quickly and bring it to market,” Douglas says.
The opening of this new technical facility falls directly in line with Wolverine’ s strategic diversification plan. China continues to be an expanding market for the company, offering a wealth of opportunity to further broaden its capabilities. The EV sector, for instance, is a major growth area, particularly within the Chinese market where over 60 percent of new vehicles are NEVs( new energy
vehicles), but the flexibility and adaptability of Wolverine’ s solutions make them suited to a wide scope of applications and geographical markets – the possibilities are endless.
“ In terms of diversification, we’ re expanding both in regions and applications. Geographically, we’ re exploring more opportunities in South America and Southeast Asia. On the applications side, we want to diversify into non-automotive markets, most likely into construction and appliances, as many of our products can be used within roofing, on garage doors, in microwaves, vending machines, refrigerators, and elevators, among others,” Douglas explains.
Grown from a single location to a manufacturing empire, Wolverine’ s journey has been nothing short of a true global success story. Now in its 91st year, the company continues to flourish, with many exciting material developments, AI initiatives and geographical expansions on the horizon. Looking to the years ahead, Douglas is
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