South American automobile
manufacturers seeking world-class technology and solutions for their air conditioning
requirements can look no further than Jaguariuna, Brazil, where Delphi Automotive
Systems (NYSE: DPH – news) today officially inaugurated its newest Compact Variable
Compressor (CVC compressor) manufacturing facility.
Delphi Chairman, CEO and
President J.T. Battenberg III joined several company officials, a number of
special guests and employees of the new plant at inauguration ceremonies today
in Jaguariuna, some 100 km north of Sao Paulo.
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The 10,000-square-meter
plant, Delphi’s first compressor facility in South America, further expands
the company’s CVC compressor manufacturing footprint. It also illustrates Delphi’s
commitment to partnering with South American customers, Battenberg said, and
bringing the very best in innovation to a region that holds great potential
within automotive air conditioning.
“We are very confident
that we will compete strongly in this promising and developing market, and we
will do so with industry-leading technology like the CVC compressor,” Battenberg
said. “The South American market will have our most evolutionary compressor
design, one that’s quieter, more fuel efficient, and delivers best-in-class
performance in a small package.
“That’s a combination
we feel will lead to great opportunities — for us and our customers.”
Those opportunities will
come in a market that shows a significant increase in automotive air conditioning
penetration. Company forecasts have South American A/C penetration reaching
40 percent by 2003.
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By GlobalDataThat, coupled with an anticipated
resurgence in OEM production in Brazil and other countries, creates an ideal
environment for Delphi to continue its global momentum for its cutting-edge
CVC compressor. Featuring best-in-class performance ratings in relation to mass
and volume, the CVC compressor brings the company’s most innovative compressor
technology to South America.
“This compressor design
represents Delphi’s advanced thermal management technology at its finest, and
we look forward to delivering that high level of excellence to our customers,”
said Ronald M. Pirtle, president, Delphi Harrison Thermal Systems. “Its
design flexibility and vast lineup of configurations make it a perfect fit across
the entire spectrum of automotive applications.”
Delphi has made an initial
investment commitment of USD $45 million in the operation, which earlier this
month officially began production to support customers. The plant will employ
approximately 150 people when full production is reached. Its capacity is 500,000
units annually.
To date, current and future
business booked at the facility includes support of Volkswagen do Brasil and
GM do Brasil, and Delphi expects to continue expanding the plant’s customer
base. In addition to OEM production, Volker Barth, president of Delphi South
America, said the plant also seeks to support its South American customers’
export programs, and will serve the automotive aftermarket as well.
Sandra Y. McCulloch, Delphi
Harrison Thermal Systems director of South American operations, said that the
plant’s localized supply content initially will be approximately 50 percent
the first year, and the company anticipates that number to grow steadily over
the next few years. Delphi is encouraging suppliers with whom it has experience
in other markets to locate in Brazil, and continues its efforts to develop suppliers
already based in Brazil.
“The success of the
Jaguariuna plant is very dependent on having highly capable and committed suppliers
located as close to the plant as possible. We will look for, and encourage,
that kind of local presence with our new CVC compressor plant,” McCulloch said.
“Local relationships with our suppliers will allow us to remain lean and
efficient, and contribute to the overall competitiveness of the operation.”
Another key component in
strengthening the operation’s competitiveness is its manufacturing processes,
which like the compressor itself represent entirely new compressor technology.
Similar to CVC compressor
facilities in other markets, the Jaguariuna site is transitioning to cell manufacturing,
a simplified, flexible operation that falls in line with the company’s drive
to become leaner and more customer focused. The cell approach is designed to
keep the manufacturing processes as flexible as possible, enabling changes in
customer requirements to be adopted quickly.
Featuring a “swash”
plate configuration, the Compact Variable Compressor produces less noise and
vibration than contemporary designs, and features best-in-class output performance.
With its wide range of displacement offerings and a high degree of design flexibility,
the CVC compressor is adaptable to small, mid-sized and large vehicles. Its
highly efficient mode of operation allows automakers to realize savings in energy
consumption, and is a key part of Delphi’s initiatives targeting energy efficiency
and environmental stewardship.
Delphi’s CVC compressors
are already manufactured in France, USA and Japan, and the company’s joint venture
in Hungary is scheduled to begin production in 2001.
Multi-national Delphi Automotive
Systems, with headquarters in Troy, Mich., USA, Paris, Tokyo and Sao Paulo,
Brazil, is a world leader in transportation and mobile electronics components
and systems technology. Delphi’s three business sectors — Dynamics & Propulsion;
Safety, Thermal & Electrical Architecture; and Electronics & Mobile
Communication — provide comprehensive product solutions to complex customer
needs. Delphi has approximately 213,000 employees and operates 176 wholly owned
manufacturing sites, 41 joint ventures, 53 customer centers and sales offices
and 30 technical centers in 38 countries.
