Steering specialist Nexteer Automotive has broken ground for its new Asia-Pacific Technical Centre in Suzhou Industrial Park.
Mike Richardson, president of Nexteer Automotive, said: "Asia-Pacific is our second largest business. In addition to being our Asia-Pacific headquarters, the new technical centre will set the foundation for an integrated approach to management, technology, investment and operations. It will provide powerful R&D and product development support as well as sustainable, profitable growth of our businesses in China and Asia."
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The new centre encompasses 30,000 square metres, including 14,000 sq m of office space and 12,000 for R&D facilities and a test and validation lab. Departmental functions housed at the site will be product engineering, manufacturing engineering, purchasing, finance, sales and management.
Nexteer's plans for the site also include a 4,500 sq m vehicle test track with eight lanes, incorporating complex roadway environments.
Chairman and CEO, Guibin Zhao said: "Our investment in the new centre represents our confidence on the future business growth in Asia. To achieve strategic growth in the Asia-Pacific market, we are advancing business expansion and product diversity to solidify our leadership position in steering and driveline products for our ever growing customer base."
The centre is expected to be completed at the end of 2019. It will house 1,000 employees, enhance technical support and customise products, R&D, production, testing and validation for the local market.
