Nexteer Automotive has announced two major developments at its in Tychy, Poland facilities, due for mid-2016: the opening of its third European manufacturing plant and the opening of its first technical center. The overall investment will exceed over US$16 million and the company says it is planning to “significantly enlarge” this figure in the upcoming years.
The new plant will allow the company to expand the manufacturing capabilities of EPS systems for Europe’s current customers, including BMW, General Motors, FCA and PSA Peugeot Citroen. In addition to current investment in the new manufacturing building, the company also intends to expand investments in high-technology equipment and tools in the upcoming years.
Nexteer’s Poland Technical Center will be responsible for design and development of new steering system solutions and house an integrated team with capabilities including design, modeling, software, prototyping, vehicle testing and validation. The Technical Center investment reflects campus improvements including an engineering garage, test track, laboratory, prototype center and validation center. These resources will enable the Nexteer team to develop, assess, evaluate, and improve steering system characteristics and vehicle steering performance.
In addition to facility investment, Nexteer plans hire more than 100 engineers in the upcoming year. The team located at the new technical center will engineer current and future EPS programs, and will support the development of ADAS and autonomous technologies for global automotive OEMs.
The technical center’s team will not only work with peers and customers within Europe, but also with peers and customers located around the world. This team will closely collaborate with colleagues at Nexteer’s Corporate Technical Centre in Saginaw, Michigan in the USA, as well as those located at other Nexteer facilities around the world.
“Engineers working at our technical center will have a unique opportunity to design and develop technology for some of the most advanced steering systems – impacting the safety and comfort of millions of drivers around the world. You can say that R&D specialists are – not only in the automotive business – the best engineers who create innovative solutions to the toughest challenges. We are happy that it will be here, in Poland, where we will have the pleasure to develop experts shaping mobility of the future,” stated Ryszard Iskra, technical director at Nexteer Automotive Poland.
