China’s CISDI Group selects Sheffield over New York and Dusseldorf for subsidiary location

As the Chinese global engineering giant CISDI Group settles in Sheffield, engineering companies across the city should experience a major boost in their order books.

The South Yorkshire city was chosen above New York and Dusseldorf by CISDI Group to house a subsidiary which will supply the steel industry throughout Europe and the USA.

CISDI Group is part of the Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC), which is one of the top global companies in the newly released Fortune 500 and one of the leading contractors in the erection of the Beijing Olympic Stadium.

The engineering company produces steel plants the size of small towns and has a revenue target of £1.48bn this year.

Sheffield was recognized as the most suitable location out of the three locations by several delegates from China, who were swayed by the city’s skilled workforce and reputation for excellence in advanced manufacturing.

Strong road and rail links, as well as the support shown from Sheffield City Council and Creative Sheffield, also played a big factor.

Mrs NingChuan Yang, director of overseas business for the state-owned CISDI Group, will visit Sheffield from Southwest China on Thursday May 14 to open the new engineering division at the former PlusNet HQ in Victoria Quays.

As well as providing engineering design, the Sheffield division will be the purchasing hub for the CISDI Group, sourcing highly specialised components and equipment for incorporation into steel plants worldwide. The division aims to place orders of up to £7m a year and where possible, source in the Sheffield City Region.

After selecting Sheffield as the location for its worldwide operations outside of China, CISDI has already invested £2.2m in the city’s economy. £1m has been spent on the purchase and renovation of the former PlusNet offices, and since beginning trading in November the company has secured orders of £1.5m.

John Lester, CISDI UK managing director, said: “The steel heritage, the wealth of highly-skilled, metallurgically-focused workforce and strong educational facilities were a major contributing factor in choosing Sheffield. So was the encouragement shown by the City Council. Creative Sheffield have been amazingly supportive.

“They accommodated us free of charge for six months while property agents Knight Franks secured a suitable location. We could not have asked for more.”

John added: “We plan to boost the order books of local companies. One of the main functions of the company is to procure hi-tech engineering components, which will be integrated into steel plants worldwide and ideally we want to buy them here.

“We are welcoming approaches from local engineering companies producing bearings, seals, pumps and motors - all the clever stuff CISDI needs for the huge steel equipment it creates all over the world. We want to build up a portfolio of local people we can work with.”

Cllr Leigh Bramall, Sheffield City Council deputy leader and cabinet member for business, skills and sevelopment, said: “We’ve been working with CISDI for over 12 months and are delighted it chose Sheffield over Dusseldorf and New York.

“It is testament to the pull Sheffield has for overseas investors and the excellent work of our Inward Investment Team, our advance manufacturing and engineering output, geography, transport and our workforce skillset. CISDI is a great asset to the city.”