German firms add ¥720M Tianjin capacity to localize China supply chains

For supply chain and logistics leaders, the Tianjin expansions from KERN LIEBERS and Innomotics signal a deepening localization strategy: rather than exporting to China, German manufacturers are building advanced capacity inside their largest demand center. KERN LIEBERS' new ¥120M medical spring line and Innomotics' ¥600M motor plant with 2,500 MW annual capacity will reshape regional supplier networks and shift production closer to Chinese customers.

German precision manufacturer KERN LIEBERS Group and motor and drive systems provider Innomotics have both expanded production footprints in Tianjin, northern China, according to a Xinhua report published on September 5, 2026. KERN LIEBERS, a 138-year-old family-owned company, completed the second-phase expansion of its Tianjin plant in August with an additional investment of 120 million yuan (approximately 17.7 million U.S. dollars). The project adds a medical spring production line that the company says will become the group's most advanced of its kind globally. Separately, Innomotics began operating a new plant in Tianjin in June with total investment of about 600 million yuan. The facility is described as the company's most comprehensive R&D and production base for high-voltage and high-power low-voltage motors outside Germany, with annual production capacity of up to 2,500 megawatts—enough, the report notes, to power a megacity for an entire year.

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Lu Zheng, general manager of Innomotics Large Motors (Tianjin) Ltd., similarly pointed to the importance of expanding local production capacity, noting that China has already become Innomotics' largest single market globally.

Combined, the announced investment amounts come to about 720 million yuan. Using the conversion provided for the smaller project, the Innomotics outlay equates to roughly 88 million U.S. dollars, though the report only supplies a dollar figure for the KERN LIEBERS investment. Regardless of currency, the commitments are notable because they involve advanced manufacturing and R&D rather than low-cost assembly, and because both are expansions of existing German operations rather than new entrants testing the market.

These two investments, while distinct in product focus, share a common strategic logic. Executives from both companies frame China not merely as a cost-competitive export platform but as a core demand center and innovation hub. Erek Speckert, chief executive officer of KERN LIEBERS Group, said China is one of the company's most important markets and a global hub for manufacturing innovation and industrial development. He emphasized that continued investment in China, close alignment with customer needs, and strengthening local capabilities are integral to the group's long-term growth strategy. Lu Zheng, general manager of Innomotics Large Motors (Tianjin) Ltd., similarly pointed to the importance of expanding local production capacity, noting that China has already become Innomotics' largest single market globally.

The Tianjin projects also highlight how German industrial capital is responding to China's dual role as both a massive end market and a sophisticated supply-chain base. The source quotes several German company executives in Tianjin who cited the vast market, strength of supply chains, and favorable business environment as essential draws. For KERN LIEBERS, the new medical spring line indicates a move into higher-value, application-specific manufacturing within China, potentially serving Chinese medical device manufacturers and other regional customers. For Innomotics, the 2,500 MW annual capacity and R&D capabilities outside Germany suggest a long-term commitment to serving Chinese industrial electrification and energy infrastructure demand rather than relying on imports from Europe.