EUROPEAN BASE
FOR GLOBAL LEADER In 1998 the Japanese company Shinwa International Holdings Ltd built its first and only European production site, Shinwa Precision Hungary Ltd, in the industrial town of Miskolc, north-east Hungary. Edina Beale examines the unique position of the Hungarian subsidiary within Shinwa’s global network and reveals the company’s winning strategy to bounce back after the recession.
T
he Japanese Shinwa group is a leading manufacturer of audio/video subsystems including mechanisms and pickups for the home and automotive markets. Headquartered in Hong Kong, the group established several manufacturing plants in China as well as a number of sales offices across the globe. In Europe, Shinwa opted for Hungary to establish its first manufacturing unit which also operates as a European sales and logistics centre to distribute radio/ CD player subsystems produced by other
Shinwa units in China. However, the core activity of the Hungarian subsidiary differs from the other Shinwa plants which are mainly engaged in manufacturing mechanisms. Shinwa in Hungary is the only manufacturing plant to produce high precision plastic components for car radio/CD player front panels. The company is mainly a Tier 2 supplier for Mercedes cars but also manufactures parts for VW, Skoda, Audi, Renault, Toyota and Hyundai cars, and now provides Industry Europe 145
