Oct 18 2004
Visteon Corporation announced today that it has committed to investing in a new manufacturing facility in Nitra, Slovakia, to support new business with Kia and PSA Peugeot Citroën.
Visteon's new site, representing an investment of up to 40 million euros (approximately $49 million U.S.), will support the vehicle manufacturers' strategy to assemble future vehicles in Slovakia. The facility will manufacture automotive interiors and climate control systems. Production is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2006, and the site is expected to eventually house about 400 employees.
"Recent new business wins gave us the opportunity to review our European manufacturing base and evaluate how to best serve future business with car makers located in Central Eastern Europe," said Karl Krause, Visteon's vice president of manufacturing, Europe and South America." The stable Slovakian business environment, the proximity of customer manufacturing operations, and the cooperation of the Slovakian government contributed to our decision to invest in Nitra."
The Ministry of Economy of the Slovakian Republic and the Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) welcomed Visteon's decision to enter the Slovak market. In June 2004, Visteon entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Economy regarding grants for the future investment in Nitra.
"SARIO is very happy that the interest of automotive suppliers to invest in Slovakia has been rapidly growing. Visteon's expansion into Slovakia will help accelerate the growth of our automotive industry," said Roman Kuruc, corporate executive officer of SARIO.
The city of Nitra is situated about 80 kilometers (approximately 50 miles) northeast of the Slovakian capital of Bratislava. Slovakia became a member state of the European Union in May of this year.
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