Fire safety firm joins ambulance venture
Firefighting system solutions provider China Fire Safety and the largest ambulance manufacturer in northern Europe will invest 30 million yuan to set up China's first ambulance factory.
Under an agreement signed yesterday, China Fire Safety's subsidiary Tung Shing Trade Development will establish a company in Hong Kong with Finland's Profile Vehicles and three individual parties, holding 38 per cent, 35 per cent and 27 per cent interests respectively. The new company will then form a joint venture with another China Fire Safety company, each owning a 50 per cent share.
China Fire Safety chairman Jiang Xiong said the joint venture would acquire or build a factory in Chengdu capable of producing at least 1,000 vehicles a year.
The factory was scheduled to start production this summer with projected sales of 150 units this year, then 500 and 800 units in the next two years respectively, he said. Its target customers are emergency medical centres and hospitals on the mainland and other developing countries in Asia.
Profile's group managing director, Marko Repo, said threats such as Sars and bird flu could lead to an upsurge in emergency services, including the need for more ambulances.
'There isn't any factory in China specialising in professional ambulance manufacturing,' said Bernard Chan Siu-tat, executive director and chief financial officer of China Fire Safety. 'Many high-end ambulances are imported from overseas and cost from Euro80,000 ($749,528) to Euro100,000 each, while ours will be 50 per cent less at around Euro35,000 to Euro50,000.'
