DragonVenture leads a US Die Casting Delegation to China for the Second Time

Palo Alto, California, September. 28, 2004

Silicon Valley based cross-Pacific venture capital and consulting firm DragonVenture led another US die casting delegation for a week-long visit to China’s major port cities of Shanghai and Ningbo.

This is the second China delegation DragonVenture organized for members of the North American Die Casting Association (NADCA). In November 2002, DragonVenture organized a delegation of 22 NADCA members to visit the largest manufacturing city in Southern China, the city of Dongguan. The fruitful trip was so well received among the delegates that, in August 2004, DragonVenture organized a second delegation to China to serve the growing interests of NADCA members wishing to learn more about China.

The 2004 delegation visited the Yangtze Delta Area, the fastest growing area in China. The NADCA delegation of over 30 members representing 19 companies, as well as the president of NADCA visited 10 die-casting plants in Shanghai and Ningbo. In addition to plant tours, the delegation also attended the 4th China International Diecasting Congress & Exhibition, one of the largest die casting shows of its kind in China.

The delegates were thrilled at the opportunity to see a spectrum of China die casting operations that range from family based plants with old machines to well-organized enterprises with modern machinery, quality control and management. A week’s trip of 10 plant tours and industry trade show generated many valuable business contacts and numerous potential opportunities for the delegates. More importantly, it presented the delegates with the snapshot of the current die casting industry in eastern China – disadvantages and advantages, threats and opportunities of investing in China or joint-venturing with China die casting companies.

DragonVenture believes that a delegation of this kind is an effective channel to educate US die casting companies on the China market. It is an information-gathering, experience-enriching window for any US die casting operations that wish to understand opportunities and threats associated with China. DragonVenture will thrive to work with NADCA and organizations like NADCA to help US firms understand China both as a threat, from a low-cost labor standpoint; and an opportunity, from a vantage point of China being the largest unified yet largely untapped market in the world.