Auto lighting supplier ZKW expanding in Mexico, Slovakia

Austrian lighting systems specialist ZKW Group is investing 210 million euros ($234 million) in two expansion projects in Mexico and Slovakia in a bid “to remain competitive in the long term.”
 
In Krušovce, Slovakia, ZKW said it completed its “largest expansion project” in the company’s history earlier this summer, having invested 155 million euros ($172.8 million) in doubling the production space at the site to around 78,000 square meters.
 
Open since 2007 with around 2,500 employees, the plant is ZKW’s second largest production site and manufactures main headlamps and fog lamps in addition to developing new lighting systems.
 
The site now features 45 injection molding machines and has equipment for the production of plastic lenses and modules.
 
The expansion project also looked to deliver cost-effective, energy-and environmentally-friendly structures. The production halls, according to KZW, are now heated with waste heat from the injection molding machines.
 
“The expansion of the Slovakian plant will enable us to increase our competitiveness and contribute an even higher share to the ZKW Group’s added value in the future,” CEO Oliver Schubert said.
 
In Silao, Mexico, ZKW launched a 67 million euros ($74.7 million) expansion project in November to nearly double the size of the site amid growing demand in the NAFTA region.
 
The project will enable the manufacture of innovative automotive lighting systems using equipment such as injection molding machines, hard coating machinery for the coating of plastic diffusing lenses, painting systems, metalization equipment for reflectors, and headlight assembly lines. 
 
Completion is scheduled for October 2020, with production expected to start in August 2021, ZKW said.
 
The company also aims to double the number of employees to 1,400 people by 2023 at the site.
 
“The site in Silao plays a strategically important role in the ZKW production network because it offers attractive framework conditions for the automotive supplier industry,” Schubert added.
 
Operational since 2015, the Mexican unit supplies headlamps to premium car makers such as BMW, Daimler, and Volvo in Silao.