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35 HERAEUS | MAGAZINE 2015 | BUILDING FACTORIES 35 HERAEUS | MAGAZINE 2015 | BUILDING FACTORIES NANJING Hendrik Trute and Vincent Ji are planning the production of the future. They are responsible for the construction of two state- of-the-art precious metals factories in Germany and China. BUILDING FACTORIES Heraeus is taking a further step towards growth in Asia by building a new precious metals factory in the Chinese city of Nanjing. The factory will set new high standards in production and environmental protection for Heraeus in Asia. It is expected to be completed in early 2018. Nanjing, the second-largest city in East- ern China, is located approximately 300 kilometers northwest of Shanghai. The Nanjing precious metals plant by the numbers: • Plot size: 84,000 m2 , Building footprint: 21,000 m2 , Plot area: 33,600 m2 • Registered capital for the new company: 40 million US-Dollar • Approximately 400 employees (for full scope in 2024) • Offering chemical products and precious metals recycling service Interview with Vincent Ji, Deputy Technical Project Manager& Site Service Manager What special challenges are involved in planning and building the new precious metals plant? One of the greatest challenges is figuring out how to make the team work together efficiently. Team members come from many different operational units of Heraeus, and sometimes they tend to focus more on their particular objectives than on finding overall solutions through collab- oration. This challenge has been significantly mitigated by encouraging sufficient discussion in the design workshops, as well as by setting up and communicating the common design principles and factory guidelines. Personally, I need to become more familiar with certain topics, such as the special precious metal security requirements. I am con- stantly improving by acquiring new knowledge, consulting experts in the organization, and involving experts directly in the project. What is your role in this project? Together with my colleagues, I manage the project’s engi- neering-related activities to make sure the project pro- gresses on time and within budget, and meets the quality requirements. I bring my professional experience to the project as much as possible, for example by giving my professional advice to the site-selection team during the decision-making process, setting up the local engineering team to work with international experts, etc. I also coordinate user require- ments for site infrastructure and logistic design in order to make sure the site will be designed according to users’ needs. What is it about working on this new precious metals plant that you find intriguing? I have been working on the project since July 2014. It is very interesting to work as part of a big project team, and I have learned a lot from the other team members. It is also very exciting to watch the new site developing from ideas, to drawings, and finally, to reality. O VINCENT JI

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