Ficosa says it has been awarded four contracts from two American OEMs to produce 8,900,000 units of rear-view mirrors over a period of five years in North America. The total amount of these orders is US$510m (approximately EUR449m) and means a record number of contracts closed with OEMs in a single year in the North American region.
In the words of Joan Canellas, Ficosa North America CEO: “These new projects for rear-view mirrors ensure high production volume and consolidate our business with strategic customers in the North America region, reaffirming our commitment and steady growth in this area”.
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Three orders will be produced in the new facility in Cookeville (Tennessee), which will be the group’s most advanced worldwide. These will be the first new projects to go to the new factory, which will kick off its activity in October 2016.
In total, these new contracts will account for 1,700,000 rear-view mirrors annually for a period of five years. The value of this Cookeville production will represent an economic value of $460m (EUR405m), and will begin in the first quarter of 2018.
The Cookeville plant, which is expected to be fully operational later this year, will be a leader in painting and injection processes thanks to the latest technology production equipment.
Furthermore, Ficosa North America is currently recruiting 240 new workers for positions including project managers, technicians, engineers, operators and human resources specialists.
Canellas highlights: “These projects will give the Cookeville plant a strong boost and not only reinforce the company’s business in North America but allow us to give our workers a better, safer future”.
For its part, the Mexican facility of Salinas Victoria (Nuevo Leon) will produce a fourth order consisting of 80,000 rear-view mirrors per year for a period of five years. This contract comes from an American OEM in the premium segment and is valued at a total of $50m (EUR43.9m). Production will start in the last quarter of 2018.
North America has become, after Europe, the most important market for Ficosa, which began operations in this region in 1994 and where it produces mirrors, gearboxes and brake systems. In the US, Ficosa currently has a commercial office and development centre, which employs 35 engineers, in Detroit (Michigan), a production centre in Shelbyville (Kentucky) and a new plant in Cookeville (Tennessee), which when at full capacity will replace the Crossville factory (Tennessee). The two Ficosa plants in Mexico, located in Salinas Victoria (Nuevo Leon) and Escobedo (Nuevo Leon), where the company also has an R&D plant, reinforce Ficosa’s activity in the North American region.
Ficosa has more than 9,700 employees in 16 countries worldwide, 1,700 of which work in North America.
