BURGOS, SPAIN (Nov. 5, 12:05 p.m. ET) — Spanish automotive components supplier Grupo Antolin and the Thai subsidiary of multinational NHK Spring Co. Ltd. are setting up a joint venture to produce automotive headliners in Thailand.
The relationship between the two groups started in August 2008 when Antolin sold a technological license to NHK to make headliners. The joint venture reinforces strong links between both enterprises.
The new company, called NHK Antolin Thailand Co. Ltd., will be based in Bangkok and make components for the main car manufacturers in the country: Ford, Nissan, Honda, GM, Isuzu and Mitsubishi. It will employ almost 100 people and is expected to generate a turnover of 23 million euros ($29.5 million) in 2014.
“This joint venture marks an important milestone and allows us to reinforce our positioning in Southeast Asia, a region of sustained growth with a suggestive and promising market,” Antolin said in a news release.
Thailand will produce 2 million cars by the end of 2012 and aims to reach 3 million in 2016, Antolin said.
Antolin added that the JV “will enable us to become a major player in Thailand in the field of headliner development and manufacturing. We value this successful relationship with NHK, a partner with long industrial tradition, with whom we share common values of a constant pursuit for excellence, quality and technological innovation.”
Japanese company NHK Spring Co. Ltd. was set up in 1939 and is based in Yokohama. It has plants in Japan and also in Thailand, China, India, the United States, Brazil and in Spain. The multinational produces automotive seat products, suspension spring, engine, power train and electrical products. It employs 19,700 people.
