China’s CISDI Group (www.cisdigroup.com) has opened an office in Sheffield.

The engineering giant — part of the Metallurgical Corporation of China (a contractor for the ‘Bird’s Nest’ Olympic stadium in Beijing) — said that it chose Sheffield over New York and Düsseldorf to launch the subsidiary, which will serve Europe and the USA.

The new office will provide engineering design services and be the group’s purchasing hub, sourcing components and equipment for plants world-wide.

CISDI, which is forecasting revenues of £1.49 billion this year, expects to place orders worth up to £7 million a year — and to buy locally, where possible.

The group has spent £1 million refurbishing the former PlusNet headquarters at Victoria Quays. Some seven jobs have been created so far.

A Chinese delegation led by NingChuan Yang, director of overseas business, and Yi Zhang, chief consulting officer, flew in for the official opening. The latter said that basing its international office in Sheffield is “an important step” for CISDI in becoming more international and creating partnerships world-wide.

“We recognise that Sheffield has some of the most skilled and well-trained personnel in the world, especially in the steel industry. We look to our Sheffield office as being a kind of incubation centre for our staff in China. There are currently about 7,000 Chinese students studying at both Sheffield universities, which have a good reputation for engineering.”

CISDI UK managing director John Lester said: “The steel heritage, the wealth of highly skilled metallurgically focused workers, and strong educational facilities were major factors in the decision to open the office in Sheffield.

“One of the main functions of the company is to procure high-tech engineering components, which will be integrated into steel plants world-wide, and ideally we want to buy them here. We are welcoming approaches from local firms producing bearings, seals, pumps and motors.”