Citic Dicastal Continue plucking the daisy leaves. The location of its next tire factory, the firm’s 30th facility, is still up in the air. However, there are fewer and fewer petals left. As this media learned, he gigante Chinese from the automotive sector has already ruled out the options it was considering in Castilla y León, with Burgos at the head, and the shortlist is now between Galicia and the north of Portugal. Although the availability of industrial land in the community “is not a problem,” according to the sources consulted, the difficulty lies mainly in salaries. low-cost that they offer on the other side of the citizens. Only in the case of the five Portuguese municipalities with which Pontevedra borders, the average salary is 862 euros; In the Galician province last year it was 1,733 euros.
Citic, a conglomerate to which Dicastal belongs, knows first-hand what Galicia is like since it took over the heavy boilermaker Gándara Censa in Porriño in 2011. So, however, the availability of industrial land is not what exists today, with millions of square meters available in the Salvaterra-As Neves logistics and industrial platform, the Plisan, in which for the moment only the canning factory – recently opened – by Hijos de Carlos Albo, owned by another Chinese company, Shanghai Kaichuang.
Galicia offers Dicastal land in Plisan and express processing for its “megaplant”
Now, the community is once again at the center for Citic due to its plans with its subsidiary Dicastal, a world leader in aluminum wheels and production of automotive parts that supplies, among others, Stellantis itself. The company is looking to build its first large tire factory in southern Europe, an investment that could be around 150 million euros.
Requirements
La Plisan – or other industrial surfaces that could be on the table such as Narón, A Coruña – has more than enough capacity to accommodate the 60,000 square meters of constructed area and the 100,000 of total land that Dicastal is looking forin addition to the fact that the Xunta could include the project in its express processing program so that they can begin construction of the plant as soon as possible.
The Chinese “giant” Citic once again sets its eyes on Galicia for a tire “megafactory”
On the other hand, everything indicates that another of the requirements that the company put on the table would also be covered in the Galician community. Dicastal is looking for the ability to have energy at a competitive price and water, since its factory will be a large consumer. In this case, Citic could opt to seek a PPA agreement (acronym for power purchase agreement) with wind power, as Stellantis Vigo is seeking or as another Asian automotive firm has done that, if nothing goes wrong, will set up shop in the community: Sentury Tire.
Necessary surface
Dicastal is looking for an area of 100,000 square meters. The Plisan would be an option.
Power and water supplies
The factory will consume a lot of water and energy, so it needs a stable supply at a good price. A PPA with wind could be a solution.
Sufficient labor
The plant will create between 500 and 700 jobs. The north of Portugal offers its “low-cost” salaries to compete with Galicia
The problem for Galicia, according to the sources consulted, would be in labor costs. The salaries low-cost In Portugal they are tipping the balance a little in favor of the neighboring country, despite the fact that some of the companies that are opting to settle on the other side of the border are finding serious difficulties in filling the jobs they offer, a problem that Citic Dicastal could face. to cover the at least 500 jobs it projects.
Although Dicastal’s idea was to make a decision between the end of last year and the beginning of this year to start producing in 2024, the process has been dragging on and at this time there is no clear date. Of course, when they finally make a decision their plan is still to start construction as soon as possible.
Dicastal closed 2020 with almost 5.6 billion euros in turnover
Figures
From the company the silence about this project is maximum. In fact, in their announcements to the Hong Kong stock market they do not make any reference to this possible landing in Europe. In its 2022 accounts, elCitic mentions two Dicastal projects far from China. On the one hand, the firm added an aluminum smelting plant in Kénitra, Morocco, where it also has a tire plant to supply local manufacturers, Renault and Stellantis. On the other hand, it built a tire-only factory in Coahuila, Mexico, whose construction began in January 2022 and whose first production took place last December, an example of the speed with which they plan to carry out the works in Galicia or the north of Portugal.
China explores Galicia, Portugal and Morocco for component factories
In the same summary from last year, Citic points out that Dicastal sold 72.25 million tires, reflecting an annual growth of 20.4%. Regarding its foundry products (castings, such as transmission boxes, steering sleeves, cylinder covers or auxiliary frames), sold 119,500 tons, 22.3% more. Between both legs of its business, the firm achieved a turnover of 42,773 million yuan (almost 5,600 million euros at the current exchange rate), which represents an increase of 33.61%. As for net profit, it grew by 6.37%, up to 1,068 million yuan (almost 140 million euros).
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