German Foreign Minister Dr. Johann Wadephul visited Herrenknecht Factory in Nansha
As part of his trip to China, Federal Foreign Minister Dr. Johann Wadephul visited the Herrenknecht factory in Nansha, southern China, together with a German business delegation. The family-owned company from Baden-Württemberg has been active in China for over 20 years and now employs around 950 people at several locations in the country, including around 750 colleagues in Guangzhou.
During the meeting and tour of the factory, Dr.-Ing. E.h. Martin Herrenknecht, founder and CEO of the company, and Michael Sprang, Vice Chairman of the Board of Management of Herrenknecht AG, informed the Minister about the development of the business in China and the current market and operating environment.
The Nansha site is one of the company’s central production facilities worldwide, where tunnel boring machines are manufactured for international use. 
Herrenknecht colleagues also produce record-breaking cutting-edge technology for the Chinese market: the world’s largest tunnel boring machine (TBM) to date, with a diameter of 17.6 meters and a weight of 4,850 tonnes, was manufactured in Nansha in 2014. The supersize TBM was successfully used for the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link in Hong Kong.
Federal Foreign Minister Dr Johann Wadephul was impressed by the technological capabilities of the site: “Herrenknecht is a prime example of world-class German engineering. The visit to Nansha shows how much demand there is for German technology around the globe. At the same time, it highlights the challenges companies face in the Chinese market today. These challenges must be addressed through close cooperation.”
The exchange focused in particular on changes in the regulatory environment and market access. Herrenknecht is now the last Western manufacturer of tunnel boring technology, after European and American competitors were taken over by Chinese corporations in recent years.
Company founder Dr.-Ing. E.h. Martin Herrenknecht emphasized the importance of the Chinese market in his conversation with Foreign Minister Dr. Wadephul: “Our locations in China, including the one in Nansha, remain strategically important for us. We are committed to long-term dialogue and fair framework conditions so that we can deliver cutting-edge technology to our customers worldwide. Stable, cooperative partnership is in the interest of all sides.”
The exchange with the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs highlighted the importance of constructive dialogue formats between industry and politics. For Herrenknecht, it remains crucial to maintain reliable partnerships worldwide and to successfully advance complex infrastructure projects together.