BEIJING - China's major machinery maker, Sany Heavy Equipment International Holdings Co, plans to invest more in its United States branch's research and development to increase its competitiveness, said company's executive director Zhou Wanchun.

The Hong Kong-listed Sany Heavy Equipment plans to increase its investment in R&D from the current 80 million yuan ($12.59 million) to $100 million in the next five years in Atlanta and Georgia. The move will add 80 to 100 machinery experts in Sany's US team, which currently has 20 specialists, a majority of whom are Americans.

By expanding the R&D team in the US, Sany Heavy Equipment will not only bring its technology innovation to the next level, but also change China's image as a low-end goods producer, Zhou said.

Huang Xiangyang, director of R&D Institute of Sany Group, Sany Heavy Equipment's parent company, said the number of experts at his institute has jumped from around 400 in 2010 to more than 750 this year.

"About 5 percent of them are foreign experts from our research centers in the US and Europe," Huang said, adding around 4 percent of Sany Heavy Industry's annual revenue is spent on R&D.

He said that the majority of experts came to his group due to the large number of research opportunities Sany can offer and the excitement to participate in the invention of the most cutting-edge equipments in the world.

David Thomas, an automation expert, said the exciting research opportunities is the main reason why he joined Sany Heavy Equipment's US branch in October 2010.

"What we can bring to the table is our decades-long experience in R&D," said Thomas, adding that he has 35 years experience in automation.

Sany Heavy Equipment ranks second among the top 50 China coal machinery enterprises in 2010 with nearly 3 billion yuan in sales. Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group ranks the first with sales of 6.65 billion yuan.

Zhou Wanchun, the company's executive director, said his company's sales is expected to increase 40 percent this year.

"We will become the No 1 player with an annual output of 20 billion yuan by 2016," he added.