U.S. automotive interior supplier Johnson Controls Inc. has launched a new production facility in Česká Lípa, in the Czech Republic's north. The plant will supply a wide range of plastic components to various vehicle manufacturers, reports local daily Mladá fronta DNES.
Johnson Controls will take on 100 new employees at the plant which is located in the Českolipské industrial zone. Its annual output is expected to total 15 million components per year, according to data released by company representatives. The factory will focus on parts made with polypropylene. JCI's product portfolio includes seating, cockpits, consoles and door panels.
Josef Windisch, the factory's director, said that the current state of the Czech automotive industry will play a decisive role in the future of the new plant.
“Of course, it depends on how our consumers will grow. As they will expand, so will we. So this matter is not entirely in our hands, but we assume that the production will increase,” Windisch said.
The U.S. firm expanded into the Czech automotive parts market in 1992, and has two other production facilities located in the Czech Republic.
On May 17, JCI — with its auto unit based in Plymouth, Mich. — announced a joint venture with China's Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems Co. Ltd. which would take over the auto interiors business. That venture, with Yanfeng owning 70 percent of the business, is not expected to close until the first half of 2015.