Faurecia Russia says it will seek to increase its cooperation with Tier 1 suppliers in the country as it looks to up its localisation level from the current 47%.
The component manufacturer combines its interior and seating divisions in Russia with plants in St Petersburg and Togliatti, but is coming up against a lack of suppliers capable of producing complex parts.
“In 2018 we intend to increase our localisation levels by combining our efforts with our T1 suppliers, because currently because currently we face problems with stainless steel and with commodities,” said Faurecia Russia localisation & supplier development manager, Pavel Golubev at the recent Russian Automotive Forum organised by Adam Smith Conferences in Moscow.
“Most frames from older projects were nominated by European suppliers. It is hard to localise this because we don’t have many suppliers in Russia capable of manufacturing such complex components. Natural and artificial leather – unfortunately we don’t’ have manufacturers in Russia capable of manufacturing good leather.
“I think Russia should really look into this and I would be happy to talk to suppliers if they want to develop leather. Most components in the exhaust systems, clean mobility division and seating, they all need stainless steel. This is a serious problem we need to resolve together. We need to come up with a solution, to join forces.
“We should form a united front and if the government says it does not support manufacturers of stainless steel, then we will tell the government it is impossible and demand zero % tariffs and import stainless steel.”
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By GlobalDataGolubev also bemoaned the lack of certifying laboratories to international standard complying with validation regulations as a “blocking factor” in Russia. As a result, Russian companies have to find a window in overseas laboratories’ schedules and pay for validation testing. Equally, should there be an issue with the part, it has to be sent back to the laboratory again.
“This makes the project of localisation in Russia not economically feasible,” added Golubev. “There is a demand for internationally certified laboratories for key tests such as thermal cycles. The [other] blocking factor is tooling in Russia – there is always this question.
“Stamping and forming tools is a bit better – that is a legacy from our past because that was developed quite well in Russia. Import of sub-components makes tooling much more expensive; if we need to make a change to increase production, to change the time-frame.
“I would like to offer some recommendations with raw materials:”
- We need to consolidate volumes in Tier 1 and Tier 3. [For] export possibilities we can offer working with our companies operating abroad.
- We need to involve the government. For tooling and validation we need support for local laboratories.
- Tooling: We need to show our suppliers what our requirements are.
- We also need to develop our sub-supplier panel. If a tooler uses a sub-supplier they don’t have to wait three to four months.