Autoliv has announced that it has acquired the airbag cushion cut&sewn assets and intellectual property from Milliken.
Under the terms of the acquisition, Autoliv is acquiring the machinery and equipment – laser cutters and sewing machines – as well as intellectual property and the company says this will increase Autoliv’s capability and flexibility to produce cut&sewn airbag cushions. Autoliv says these assets produce around 7m airbag cushions annually and account for approximately 7% of the global textile cushion demand for Autoliv airbag systems.
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“This is another step to take further control of our important core competencies,” said Steve Fredin – President of Autoliv Americas.
“This, along with other initiatives in South America to increase vertical integration capacity for inflators and steering wheel armatures, will help to maintain our competitiveness in the marketplace,” he added.
In the Americas, the company expects cut&sewn airbag cushion volumes to increase by more than 8m units or 30% over the next three years.
The transaction will not affect Autoliv’s net sales, since Autoliv has been the exclusive buyer of these cushions from Milliken, but will provide other advantages. Terms and conditions were not disclosed for this transaction that closed on November 14, 2011.
