IAC Group expanding UK site to supply JLR 

International Automotive Components (IAC Group) is expanding its headliner manufacturing facility in Elmdon, the U.K., to exclusively supply to long-time customer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).
 
The move, according to the Tier 1 automotive supplier, follows growth achieved through supplying to multiple models of JLR’s Modular Longitudinal Platform (MLA) platform.
 
IAC currently supplies components and interior trim to Land Rover and Range Rover models in the U.K.
 
The site, located near Birmingham, will be used for production, assembly and sequencing, in addition to housing IAC’s certain centralized U.K.-based functions such as engineering, program management, commercial, finance and IT, the IAC said in a statement July 30. 
 
Featuring “state-of-the-art highly automated process manufacturing," the expansion is set for full production in 2021, with 400 additional jobs.
 
The company has signed an 11-year lease for two buildings, with a combined area of 310,000 square feet, at Prologis Park Birmingham Interchange (PPBI), in the West Midlands region of England, where the automotive sector has grown significantly in recent years. 
 
“We are a customer-centric company, which is why it was an easy decision for us to expand our operations near our customer’s production sites,” said Manfred Gingl, IAC Group’s CEO.
 
According to Gingl, the IAC views the U.K. as “a strategic market”, and “looks forward to” to continuing partnership with JLR long into the future.
  
Headquartered in Luxembourg, the IAC is a leading global supplier of automotive components and systems, including instrument panels, console systems, door panels, headliners and overhead systems.
 
The company operates more than 50 manufacturing sites across 16 countries and registered sales of 3.6 billion euros (US$4 billion) last year.