TRW Automotive Holdings’ Kelsey-Hayes subsidiary plans to build a vehicle development test track slated to begin operation as early as fall, 2006 in Locke Township, Michigan.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Located on 262 acres of land near the state capital Lansing, the new centre’s primary purpose will be the development of active safety systems for the company’s braking, steering and suspension products. The facility will be situated less than 10 miles from TRW’s manufacturing facility in Fowlerville, Michigan.
Initial work at the new test facility will concentrate on the construction of a skid pad which will rank among the world’s largest low-friction tiled surface areas for all-weather testing of advanced brake control systems. This phase of construction is expected to be complete in autumn 2006 or early 2007. Later phases will add a vehicle dynamics area, traction control grades and a high-banked oval.
The TRW Automotive Vehicle Development Centre will be a commuter track with no permanent employees in its earliest phases, but is expected to eventually employ more than a dozen full-time engineers and track technicians. The track will support staged testing of up to 24 vehicles in dynamic manoeuvres with additional capacity for staging and testing an estimated 200 vehicle fleet.
