Brose Opens Just-in-sequence Factory in China's Capital

• Production of window regulators and door systems for local and international automotive manufacturers
• Long-term plans to produce entire product portfolio
• Workforce of around 260 planned for Beijing factory by 2015

BEIJING, Oct. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Internationally operating automotive supplier Brose has officially opened its seventh Chinese production facility in the presence of some 100 political and business guests. With this new plant in Beijing, the Brose Group now has a presence in five of China's six automotive industry regions. The mechatronic specialist already began producing door systems in the 14,000 sqm production plant in the Daxing district of south Beijing last spring – for the C and E-Class and GLK models of Beijing Benz Automotive Co. Ltd. (BBAC).

Worker working at the production line of Brose Beijing plant.

"On behalf of the Daxing management committee and government, let me give the warmest welcome to Brose in our District," said Huafeng Yu, vice mayor of Daxing District in his speech during the opening ceremony and continued: "We hope that Brose will grow as fast as possible to contribute to the construction of a high-tech manufacturing and strategic emerging industry cluster in the south of our city."

Thomas Spangler, President of Brose Asia, thanked the representatives of the government of Daxing District and Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone and added: "I am sure that Brose will also do its contribution locally by introducing new technologies, creating new job opportunities and by adding to the government revenues."

With Shanghai, Brose Beijing is the second factory in Asia where the mechatronic specialist produces door systems using the just-in-sequence (JIS) method. With the JIS inventory method, the supplier not only ensures that the exact quantity of components and systems required by the customer are available exactly on schedule: the parts also have to arrive in exactly the right sequence. Production and shipment are carried out in pace with the customer's vehicle production.

At the Beijing plant, this means that after receiving an order for a door system, Brose has around 300 minutes in which to assemble, fully inspect and ship a ready-to-install sub-assembly. The door systems are delivered directly to the final assembly line of the BBAC factory some eight kilometers away.

"Given this firmly defined time window, redundant communications and supply systems as well as robust plant technology are in place to guarantee supplies to the customer," explains Harley Yu, general manager of the new plant, adding: "In Europe, we have been producing our door systems in sequence with our customers since the late 90th. We launched JIS production of door systems at our Shanghai plant in May 2000, the first suppliers to do so in China. From that plant, we supply our customer SVW". Today, the Brose Group operates 13 JIS production plants worldwide.

Yu underscores: "The Brose Productivity System has already earned several awards for our German JIS plants. We are now developing this standardized production concept that guarantees high quality standards worldwide in China too."

Besides producing door systems, the Beijing factory will also begin producing window regulators for BAIC before the end of the year. Further projects for various local and international customers will be starting in 2013.

The workforce at the Beijing location is poised to rise from the current 80 to 110 by the end of the year; by 2015, it is anticipated that some 260 employees will be generating sales of around 750 million RMB.

Brose in China

The automotive mechantronic system supplier started its activities in the Chinese market in 1995 and has been growing ever since. Brose is now present with seven sites in five of China's most important automotive regions and has localized its entire product portfolio as well as its research and development competence in the country. The company employs more than 3,500 people in China and expects to generate the sales of around 6.5 billion RMB in this region in 2012.

Brose Group

Brose is partner to the international automotive industry, supplying some 80 automobile brands and more than 30 suppliers with mechatronic systems and electric motors. Approximately 21,000 employees work for Brose at 53 locations in 23 countries on all major automotive markets worldwide.

You will find further information about Brose China at:

www.brose.com/cn

Source: Brose Asia