Post Event | Discovering Shared Innovation | MEWG Company Visit

On March 13th, the Mechanical Engineering Working Group (MEWG) of the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce (CICC) organized a visit to the Startup Factory (Kunshan) Co., Ltd and saw the participation of over 40 people among which company representatives of different sectors, ICE representatives and CICC members.

The event was kicked off by moderator Alessandro Duina, Managing Partner of Startup Factory (Kunshan), and a short introductory session of the CICC and the Mechanical Engineering Working Group was held, respectively, by Emilio Cassanelli, CICC Board Member & VP of China Operations RGS China, and Riccardo Budriesi, Coordinator of the Mechanical Engineering Working Group (MEWG) & CEO at Marposs (Shanghai) Technologies Co., Ltd.

Founded in 2011, Startup Factory China is part of the bigger German Industrial Park, and Aki Zhang, Chief of Investment Promotion Dept. of Kunshan German Industrial Park, briefed the audience on the park's characteristics.

Alessandro Duina and Frank Gaenzle, two Managing Partner of Startup Factory (Kunshan), then presented in detail the innovative concept of the Startup Factory, the only industrial coworking space in China for European manufacturing SMEs who want to enter the Chinese market with their 100% wholly owned subsidiary or relocating/restructuring their operations if already in China.

The Startup Factory industrial coworking is very well-known in Germany but virtually unknown by the Italian ecosystem: this visit was a very important first step for letting companies, service providers, as well institutions know that this concept exists and can be a viable option also for Italian manufacturing/trading SMEs.

Since the beginning, Startup Factory China has been managing more than 60 mainly German subsidiaries, offering plug-and-play solutions with flexible spaces and support services, so that companies can focus on their real business - production and sales to grow their business.

By visiting the premises, participants had the chance to get insights and valuable business lessons by sharing the expertise of successful companies based in China. The visitors were able to see how SMEs from different sectors, from machinery to automotive, manage their operations and get an insight into digital use cases on the shop floor.

The audience was very interested in this new industrial concept which resulted in raising many questions during an engaging session of Q&A.

The CICC would like to thank all the participants for their time and the Startup Factory for their hospitality.

About Mechanical Engineering Working Group (MEWG)

The MEWG represents the interest of all Italian companies in China working directly or indirectly in the sector on a national base.

MEWG Objectives:

• Coordinate and promote all Italian members’ needs which are active in many different industries of the Chinese mechanical engineering sector (machinery, automotive, component manufacturers, mechanical engineering...);
• Promote and raise awareness of the size and the importance of Italian technology in the sector to all counterparts in China and Italy, in order to develop business opportunities.
• Coordinate and promote activities and events that boost the visibility and the image of “Technology Made in Italy”.
• Become a reference for all mechanical engineering companies within the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce.

Coordinator

• Riccardo Budriesi, CEO at Marposs (Shanghai) Technologies Co., Ltd.

Vice-Coordinators

• Mirko Turrina, General Manager of Goglio (Tianjin) Packaging Co., Ltd.
• Tiziano Sandonini, Board Member at Santoni (Shanghai) Knitting Machinery Co., Ltd.
• Ke Da, General Manager of Thermowatt China