Faurecia launches in São Paulo the largest exhaust factory in South America
Located in Limeira, the new unit received investments in the order of BRL 60 million and is equipped with a cutting edge TechCenter; the unit will also be the head office for the Division of Emissions Control Technology in South America.
Faurecia, which is the sixth largest supplier of automotive systems in the world, opened on Thursday, July 5, in Limeira (SP), the largest exhaust factory in South America and a cutting edge TechCenter. The plant received investments in the order of BRL 60 million, has 30 thousand square meters and its output capacity is able to equip 1.4 million passenger vehicles and 60 thousand commercial vehicles per year. In addition to this, the company should open other four factories in Brazil up to the end of the year, adding up to 18 factories in the country.
Present at the event were Deputy Secretary of Economic Development, Science and Technology of the State of São Paulo, Luiz Carlos Quadrelli, who represented the Governor Geraldo Alckmin; the Mayor of Limeira, Orlando José Zovico; Investe SP’s General Manager of Investments and Business Affairs, Marco Goes; and the Agency’s infrastructure specialist, Eduardo Gutierrez.
“Faurecia once again chose the State of São Paulo to perform an investment this size, which shows that the State offers ideal conditions for investing in research and development”, said Goes. The new plant is equipped with the latest technology for the production of full exhaust systems and its components - air manifolds, catalytic converters, particulate filters for diesel systems and noise dampeners –, and uses state of the art welding processes for passenger and commercial vehicles.
The products follow the latest environmental standards and regulations in force in the South American markets served by Faurecia, including the Euro 5 (P7). The output of the new factory also includes the supply of components to the group’s units that operate in the just-in-time (JIT) system, located in the surroundings of the automakers.
"The new facilities in Brazil further expand the company's commitment to its Brazilian and South American customers and to the growing base of companies that operate within the region of Limeira”, said the CEO of Faurecia, Yann Delabrière.
TechCenter
The TechCenter is the first at the gas emission control unit in Brazil and resorts to a space of 1.5 thousand sq. m. inside the plant sited in Limeira. The Technology Center counts on a cutting edge prototype department able to transform computer models and drawings in physical parts for testing and validation. To ensure the high efficiency of its operations, BRL 3 million were invested in technology and equipment deemed "best in class" in the area of automotive component durability, with a high level of repeatability and accuracy.
With the opening of the technology center, the Brazilian operation will no longer need to work conceptually in product development through the use of tools such as CAD (Computer Aided Design), CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) and others used for predicting the behavior of exhaust systems, and shall act at all stages of the creation cycle. This represents a relevant increase in its service, quality, time, cost and process levels, bringing forth a development on the service rendered to the customer.
Global Integration
The local testing structure will be integrated to the other Faurecia’s TechCenters around the world in order to ensure that best practices will be applied and spread throughout all units of the company. This way, it is possible to ensure test consistency at any center, following the specified requirements.
Innovation
Innovation is one of the primary foundations of Faurecia. The Group operates 40 R&D centers in the world, employing more than five thousand engineers. In Brazil, it has centers in Curitiba, Fortaleza and São Paulo. From the EUR 760 million invested worldwide in R&D in 2011, EUR 100 million were allocated to innovative initiatives.
About Faurecia
Faurecia is the sixth largest world supplier of automotive equipment, with four key business areas: automotive seats, emission control systems, internal systems and external systems. Last year, the group has sold the total of EUR 16.2 billion. On December 31, 2011, the group employed 84 thousand people in 33 countries and 270 units, in addition to 40 R&D centers. Faurecia is listed on NYSE Euronext Paris Stock Exchanges.
Present in Brazil since 1997, the company currently employs more than 4 thousand people. Among its customers in Brazil, there are leading automotive companies such as Citroën, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Renault, Toyota and Volkswagen. The company also supplies the division of commercial vehicle, such as medium and heavy trucks, due to its global partnership with Cummins.
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