Duravit opens new factory in China

Oct 17, 2005

17/10/2005 - Just two years after signing a joint-venture agreement with its Chinese partner to expand Chinese operations through the company Duravit Chongqing Sanitaryware Co., Duravit has officially opened the factory and administrative offices, which have been operative since last December.
The new factory, located at Youxi-Town (Jiangjin) near Chongqing in central China, has a production capacity of 500,000 pieces, sold mainly in China and Southeast Asia.
The site in Shanghai, where the company opened its representation offices in 2000, is more centrally located with respect to the domestic market and is responsible for coordinating all the distribution activities.
Here Duravit has concentrated all its sales and marketing activities and built a major showroom which will become a focal point for dealers and designers.

The Duravit Group closed 2004 with a turnover of 182 million euro, 12.4% up on the 161.9 million euro of 2003. In the same period the parent company Duravit AG reported a turnover of 141.8 million euro (compared to 127.3 million euro in 2003).
Bucking the German market trend, the Group reported 4% growth in the domestic market and achieved a 68% share of foreign market turnover (compared to 64.9% in 2003).
Much of this growth is a result of new product introductions such as the Starck 3 series and the new “Baths and Wellness” division which was started up in mid-2002 but has already reported surprising growth.