GST Autoleather Opens Chinese Finishing Facility

GST Autoleather celebrates the grand opening of its new leather-finishing facility in Jiaxing, China.

Production began in fourth-quarter 2018 at the facility 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Shanghai and now is supplying finished hides for automotive customers in China, Japan, Korea and Russia through its two cutting operations in Shenyang and Zhongshan.

The $30 million, 185,000-sq.-ft. (17,200-sq-m) facility has 110 employees and focuses on production hide finishing and regional customer R&D activity. It also maintains a fully equipped laboratory to meet stringent customer specifications.

“GST is here in China to stay,” Randy Johnson, CEO of GST Autoleather, says at the grand opening ceremony. “Long-term relationships always matter in the success of a company. We are here for the long view and are building strong industry and community relationships.”

Jiaxing, described by GST as China’s largest leather production and trading base, becomes home to one of the Rochester Hills, MI-based company’s 14 global locations.