Rising labor costs and demand for convenience-themed packaged foods in China have created an opportunity for a leading German automation firm to open a subsidiary in Shanghai.
Packaging machine maker Gerhard Schubert GmbH is tapping into the Chinese convenience and packaged seafood sector with its first subsidiary in China, which will sell robot-based packaging machines from a service and distribution center in Shanghai. The company plans to open the facility by the end of 2018.
“We want to establish a position for ourselves in the largest market in the world,” Gerhard Schubert GmbH Managing Director Marcel Kiessling said. He also pointed to a “constantly growing need for automation” in China which has also been driven by rising labor costs.
Chinese seafood processors have been seeking to increase domestic demand in part by widening their offerings in the ready-meals and other convenience-type products like ready-cooked salmon, shrimp, and pangasius.
Gerhard Schubert GmbH will be presenting its technology at ProPak China, a trade fair running from 11 to 13 July in Shanghai.
