German automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler AG on Friday anounced that the company invested over 45 million euros in the construction of this new production plant in Bien Hoa, Vietnam.
Spread across an area of around 25,000 square meters, the new plant will produce industrial bearings and components for a wide range of applications, Schaeffler said in a release. Additionaly, the company is aiming to create around 300 new jobs in the country by the end of 2019.
Georg F. W. Schaeffler, shareholder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Schaeffler AG, said in his opening speech: “Vietnam was Schaeffler’s first manufacturing location in Southeast Asia more than eleven years ago. There are many reasons for our continued commitment in Vietnam. Its favorable strategic location in Asia, well-diversified, stable, and fast-growing economy, and its young, well-educated, and ambitious population are just a few examples.”
Developed on a modular concept the new plant in Vietnam is located in the Amata industrial park in Bien Hoa, about 50 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, in the south of the country and will replace the old factory. The company has also planned further expansions of the new unit over the next few years. Schaeffler is increasing its capacities for its existing product portfolio and is developing new product lines, including radial insert bearings and needle roller bearings.
“In addition to our production facilities in Korea, we opened a new plant for automotive products in Thailand in 2016 and today we are proud to celebrate the opening of this state-of-the-art facility for products from our Industrial division in Vietnam,” said Stefan Spindler, CEO Industrial at Schaeffler.
Products manufactured in Vietnam will be supplied to customers across various industrial sectors including agriculture, construction and mining, power transmission, food processing, textile, paper, steel, cement and motorcycles.
The new plant is equipped with state-of-the-art production machinery and technologies and, in addition, it is the first plant in Southeast Asia that uses the latest Industry 4.0 solutions to have been developed in-house at Schaeffler. 70 Schaeffler SmartCheck condition monitoring systems have been installed at key positions inside the plant.
With these compact measuring devices, both Schaeffler and its customers can optimize manufacturing processes, prolong maintenance intervals, reduce downtimes, and thus reduce lifecycle costs for machines and equipment.
Source: auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com