The 2006 ForMore, the first Smart fourwheel drive SUV model to be built in Brazil for the US, European and Latin American markets, will have a roof system assembled at Inalfa’s Brazilian facility in São Paulo.
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Technical development will be carried out at Inalfa headquarters in The Netherlands.
This order is worth over €5 million annually and has added 20 jobs at Inalfa’s Brazilian plant where investment is about €6 million.
Inalfa also supplies BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Renault and has about 20 different large roof systems in development with dimensions of the glass surfaces ranging from around 900 – 1200 mm width and 1000 –2000 mm length (creating a maximum glass surface of more than 2.2 m²).
The company, which claims to be the market leader for truck hatches, has recently won an order from Volkswagen Trucks which will the Brazilian facility will also supply. The hatches are destined for a new generation of 8-26 ton commercial vehicles for South America due out in late 2005.
The Brazilian facility Inalfa América do Sul was established in June 1998 as a joint venture with Uliana Indústria Metalúrgica. The plant manufactures roof systems for Smart, GM, Scania, Volkswagen and Mercedes Trucks as well as sliding side windows for the Fiat Doblo van.
