ZF Friedrichshafen AG is further expanding its presence in the Region of Asia-Pacific: The automotive supplier officially inaugurated its new plant inRayong, Thailand, on Tuesday. The regional subsidiary ZF Lemforder (Thailand) Co. Ltd. will be manufacturing axle systems for passenger cars at the facility.
ZF has had a presence in Thailand for nine years and has managed to substantially expand its market share over this period. Last year sales in the country exceeded EUR 47 million, with the figure forecast to increase to around EUR 70 million by 2014. “That is a very pleasing development, which we can successfully build upon with the increased production capacity we now have,” said Reinhard Buhl, Member of the ZF Board of Management and responsible for Chassis Technology, on Tuesday during the official inauguration ceremony in Rayong. Thailand offers foreign enterprises an attractive business environment and has recently moved into the top ten of automotive production. “In this important emerging market, we intend to position ourselves well with state-of-the-art production facilities,” he said of the investment.
With the relocation to the new plant, which is situated on the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate, around 25 kilometers from the existing location, ZF has doubled its production area in Thailand to 7 000 square meters; additional scope for expansion is still available at the site. 135 employees have been manufacturing axle systems for Thailand and the Region of Asia-Pacific at the new facility since April. “We are therefore well placed to meet the increased demand for ZF products,” said Dr. Peter Holdmann, who is in charge of the Chassis Systems business unit, during the inauguration ceremony.
In addition to BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and General Motors (GM), which ZF LemforderThailandhas been supplying for some time, the company has now also managed to secure Ford as a customer. Furthermore, GM awarded ZF a Supplier Quality Excellence Award after just a year on account of its high product quality. “This award makes us proud and attests to our good performance even within the first year of production,” stressed Holdmann. “That demonstrates that we have set up the right processes inThailandand are absolutely competitive.”
