Seating and electronics auto parts supplier Lear Corp. will double the capacity of its technology center in the Czech Republic.
The Southfield, Mich.-based company is expanding the European development base with a move to a new, larger site at Pilsen in the west of the country, according to the October issue of Czech Focus, a publication of the Association of Foreign Investment.
Lear, one of the world's biggest auto component producers, has operated a 1,800-square-meter technology center in the CT Park industrial zone at Borská Pole in Pilsen since 2013. The group expects to relocate to a 4,700-square-meter site in the same zone at the beginning of next year.
The Pilsen center supports design and engineering of plastic car components, foams, upholstery materials and wiring systems for car seats. Seats developed by the company are delivered to a range of global vehicle manufacturers.
The high-tech research and development center cooperates with Lear's European headquarters in Munich.
Lear selected CT Park and Pilsen for its technology center originally because of the city's strong engineering base and the potential for cooperation with Pilsen's University of West Bohemia.
Lear operates three plants in the Czech Republic, two for seating at Kolin and Stribro and one for electrical distribution at Vyskov.