On June 9th, LiuGong and ZF held a celebration for the completion of the first prototype JV axle (AP3000), which was produced by their new joint venture company, ZF Liuzhou Axle Co. Ltd.
It is not the first time these two parties have worked together. In 1995, LiuGong and ZF started their long-term relationship by setting up Liuzhou ZF Machinery to produce construction transmissions and spare parts. It has been successfully serving joint venture partner LiuGong and third parties with construction machinery transmissions for years.
After the success of the first JV with ZF, LiuGong and ZF built a new joint venture together last September, focusing on wheel loader axles that are specially tailored for the requirement of developing markets. Located in the same city together with LiuGong, the new ZF Liuzhou Axle Co. Ltd. is targeting an increase in annual volume to more than 30,000 units by 2018.
According to Wang Xiaohua, chairman of the board for LiuGong, the new AP3000 axle "marks a new level of our excellent cooperation with ZF." The AP3000 was developed through the joint efforts of research teams from ZF headquarters in Germany, ZF China and LiuGong. It can be assembled with dry or wet brakes, and is mainly designed for 5- and 6-ton wheel loaders. LiuGong’s 855N will be the first machine equipped with the new axle.
