Train maker gains high-end technology

China's high-speed train manufacturer, China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, is fast gaining high-end technology through overseas acquisitions, and one such successful example is its purchase of the British semiconductor maker Dynex.

Since making the acquisition in 2008 through its subsidiary Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric, CRRC has gained access to IGBT (insulated-gate bipolar transistor) semiconductor technology and research and development capability.

IGBT semiconductor technology is a key part of the transport industry. Historically, CRRC has been importing IGBT semiconductors from leading international suppliers in Europe and Japan, but as well as continuing to import, the company wanted the competitive advantage of an in-house competence in IGBT design and manufacture.

Fresh investments from the acquisition, and subsequent to the deal, has also benefitted Dynex, and by supplying semiconductors to CRRC the British firm has also found a large and sustainable market.

Paul Taylor, CEO of Dynex, says that the acquisition has helped his team increase its R&D capabilities through financial support, technology sharing, and assistance given for the commercialization of its technology.

Dynex, founded in 1956 in Lincoln, England, has grown to become the UK's largest manufacturer of high voltage semiconductors.

Since the acquisition, Dynex has experienced two stages of technology expansion. The first was a 7.8 million pound ($12.2 million; 10.6 million euros) R&D investment started in 2010, for which Zhuzhou CSR contributed 80 percent of the funding, and the second phase, started in 2014, has a 20 million pound R&D investment for which Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric again contributed 80 percent of the funding.

The added investment has allowed Dynex to build a new R&D center, which was launched in 2012. Dynex's R&D team has also grown from 12 prior to the acquisition to 55.

Taylor says the access to skilled engineers from Zhuzhou CSR, who are seconded to Dynex, is valuable for both the development of new technology and technology transfers from Dynex to Zhuzhou CSR.

The Zhuzhou CSR engineers stay with Dynex's R&D team for a period of time, sharing their understanding of the technology needs suitable for the Chinese market, and then often take these technologies back to China to implement in Zhuzhou CSR production chain.

"The fact that they've been here and understand the way we work as a team would also mean they can help to coordinate a lot of the partnership we have with our parent company in the longer term," Taylor says.

Prior to the acquisition, Dynex supplied its IGBT semiconductors to many industrial sector companies, and after the acquisition it has increasingly supplied its IGBT semiconductors to Zhuzhou CSR railway technology.

Taylor says because the railway sector often demands high quality and reliability for IGBT technology, his team has worked with Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric to make sure its technology is up to standard.

"Zhuzhou CSR has been very useful in giving us access to their production facilities, so that we can use them for testing and manufacturing for railway applications," Taylor says.

As a part of the technology transfer process, Dynex has also helped Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric build a large manufacturing facility for IGBT semiconductors, which opened in June 2014.

The China manufacturing facility will focus on lower-voltage IGBT semiconductors, which would derive more benefit from large-volume manufacturing and economies of scale, while Dynex's own manufacturing facility will have more focus on high-voltage IGBT, which is has a smaller market demand hence less need for mass volume manufacturing.

Recently, Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric also set up a team of around 10 staff to carry out R&D on drivetrain sub-assemblies of electric vehicles, which is based in Dynex's R&D center.

The new team will research the successful technology of IGBT drivetrain of trains, to see how it can be applied to electric cars, and the team hopes to develop a viable subsystem technology which then can be sold to electric car manufacturers.

Currently it already has an electric vehicle business unit which manufactures hybrid buses, but CSR Times Electric is looking to enter the electric car market supply chain, which has higher volume of consumer demand.

Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric decided to position the R&D work for this project within Dynex's R&D team because IGBT is at the heart of the drivetrain system, so cooperation with Dynex's existing capability can better deliver cost effective and well-tailored products for customers, says Taylor.

When the newly developed technology becomes recognized, Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric will look to set up manufacturing for the electric car drivetrain, and choose a location to base the manufacturing facility based on market demand.

Meanwhile, Dynex helped Zhuzhou CSR establish a manufacturing line for IGBT semiconductors in Zhuzhou, in Central China's Hunan province, including the installation of production equipment and design of the assembly process.

Taylor says the Zhuzhou plant will specialize in producing low-voltage IGBT semiconductors, which are needed in greater quantity, while the base in Lincoln will specialize in high-voltage ones.

Dynex is just one example of Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric Co's overseas acquisitions. In April, Zhuzhou CSR has bought United Kingdom-based subsea equipment manufacturer, Specialist Machine Developments Ltd, for about 130 million pounds.

SMD has a number of business streams, including remotely operated vehicles, subsea trenching, submerged mining and marine renewables.

cecily.liu@chinadaily.com.cn