American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) has announced plans for a new manufacturing facility in Thailand, near the city of Rayong, located southeast of Bangkok.
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Rayong is home to a large Ford-Mazda joint venture which makes Mazda-designed one-tonne pickup trucks for global markets. Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota and Isuzu also produce their rival light truck models in the Thailand.
AAM said it had acquired around 21 acres in an industrial park in Rayong Province for the construction a 90,000 square-foot, wholly-owned regional manufacturing plant for its engineered driveline products.
Groundbreaking is due late in spring, with preliminary production planned for next year. Joseph Tang has been named plant manager to oversee construction and then run the facility.
“Our new facility in Thailand represents a significant expansion of our manufacturing footprint in the important economy of Asia where growing demand for vehicles is accelerating production volumes,” said AAM chairman and CEO Richard Dauch. “AAM is continuing to invest in products and markets where we can best serve our customers and have the opportunity to drive profitable growth.”
The manufacturing facility will be in the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate that is locally recognized as the ‘Detroit of the East’ for its heavy population of automotive OEMs and suppliers. The location is strategically located near key sea ports and will provide excellent geographic access to vehicle manufacturers throughout the region, AAM said.
AAM’s current Asia operations include a manufacturing plant in Changshu, China along with business and engineering offices in Tokyo, Japan; Shanghai, China; Pune, India; and Seoul, South Korea.
