“Innovation is part of our DNA, and it is the distinctive trait that helped our development in the market until now”, with these words, the UFI Filters Group Chairman, Giorgio Girondi, opens the exclusive interview with Automobile & Parts, one of the most popular Aftermarket magazines in China, by outlining UFI’s contribution to a more sustainable future

There’s a broader global attention to emission containing policies, as testified by the agreement signed by global leaders in Paris in 2015, and the plan set forth by the EU to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and progressively increase the share of renewable energies and energy efficiency before 2030.

In this foreword, UFI Filters – global leader in the filtration, thermal management and hydrogen filtration technology fields – is increasingly committed to supporting cars and heavy vehicle manufacturers, by developing solutions for new electric vehicles (NEV – New Energy Vehicles).

The interview shows how the drive of a constantly evolving market, such as the Chinese one, with more accentuated evolutionary timeframe, compared to the European market, along with the innovation that is an integral part of the UFI Filters Group’s DNA, is the winning combination that marks UFI Filters’ success in both China and worldwide.

The Chinese market has always been an important benchmark. The quick development of new vehicles and technologies provides the chance to work in a scenario that moves with extreme rapidity. Innovation – an integral part of UFI Filters’ DNA – is the answer to this market. “Being one step ahead” is one of the values the Group invests in, to provide solutions that anticipate future demand. With its GLOCAL approach (local production with a global perspective), UFI Filters can serve local customers, by developing its products in one of the 3 Innovation Centers located in Italy, China and India, and spreading know-how in the other production branches throughout the world, for global coverage.

According to the Chairman, the future for mobility without harmful emissions into the atmosphere passes through hydrogen, and this is exactly what UFI Filters has focused on.
For over five years, it has focused on searching for and developing technologies that can be installed on any kind of vehicle, both heavy vehicles, cars, and light commercial vehicles. The Advanced H2 brand was created to identify those products for hydrogen mobility, such as the UFI Adsorber cathode air filters, which ensures the best operation of the fuel cell, and the deioniser, which deionises the cooing circuit coolant.

The UFI Group has been present in China for over forty years; and today, it can count on 7 industrial sites, the last of which is about to be opened in the Zhejiang province, in Jiaxing, and will be entirely devoted to developing products for NEV.

Chairman Giorgio Girondi concludes “The future will be greener. We are entering the new era of hydrogen technology, and our Group is ready to guide this process with five years of unfailing devotion. Get ready while I’m about to unveil revolutionary innovations for hydrogen mobility. Stay tuned with UFI Filters’ world, as our momentum is just beginning!”

Read the complete interview here:

UFI Filters, the leading filtration and thermal management company, celebrates?40?years of a solid?presence in China?with an interview where?Group CEO Rinaldo Facchini?together with?Simone Trazzi APAC COO?talk about the growth and history of UFI Filters in the Far East.

The interview with?Automobile&Parts magazine, one of the most authoritative voices on the Chinese Aftermarket scene tells a story of entrepreneurial vision, the ability to adapt to the fast-changing vehicle market in China and of seeking the most technologically advanced systems.

The history of UFI Filters in China has deep roots: in 1982, Chairman Giorgio Girondi began investing in a market that proved capable of outstripping US vehicle production in as early as 2010. The first plant, which opened in 1996, was the first to be wholly owned and the rapid growth of the market led to the opening of three more industrial filter production sites in the following decade, including the production site in Changchun, Jilin Province.

To support the demands of vehicle manufacturers who required continuous physical production ready for a booming market, the UFI Filters Group put the?GLO-CAL?concept into practice: global presence for local production, where industrial sites located close to major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) meet international certification standards, such as ISO and IATF.

The UFI Filters Group currently has 6 plants in China, and an agreement has just been signed to build the 7th plant, the 20th worldwide, in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. Designed to support and develop the best technologies to support the growing production of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs), the new plant will be the first Green Technology plant in China. There will be 36,000 square metres of space for plant, office and Research & Development department. The plant that will appear in 2023 will be dedicated to producing the most advanced thermal management systems, such as coolers for E-Axle and E-motor, Battery Chillers, Coolant Battery Heaters and Liquid Cooled Condensers.

Rinaldo Facchini, CEO of the UFI Filters Group?comments, “The commitment we made in 1996 has never failed or wavered. It has always been strong and growing. We will invest further to build a new production site in Jiaxing, Zhejiang and in new projects for green technologies.”

Simone Trazzi – COO APAC of the UFI Filters Group?adds, “This investment, in the 7th industrial site in China, will support the development of products for NEVs?– vehicles fuelled by new forms of energy?– which represent the future of transport for both passengers and commercial vehicles, in the world’s most important and dynamic automotive market. We already have four industrial sites, employing 1,600 people. The new plant will cover over 36,000 square metres of production and warehouse space, with the possibility of further expansion to another 30,000 square metres.”

The interview also talks about how the UFI Filters Group has published its first Sustainability Report, based on three fundamental pillars: Environment, Social and Governance, with a special focus on People, as you can read in the introductory letter by Chairman Giorgio Girondi. One further push to live up to its mantra: “Filtering Technology For Our Planet”.

For more information, please read the full article in Automobile&Parts here.