Magna International Inc. has started production at two new manufacturing facilities in the Sanand region of Gujarat. Both plants located within a supplier park adjacent to the Ford Motor assembly plant celebrated their grand opening on December 9 to commemorate the launch of operation. Company officials were joined by customers and local dignitaries at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“Today represents another exciting step forward in the growth and development of Magna’s business in India,” said Jim Tobin, Chief Marketing Officer and President of Magna Asia. “We continue to expand our footprint – in sales, engineering, program management and manufacturing – to align with our customers and the increasing vehicle production forecast for the Indian automotive industry.”
At one of the new Sanand facilities, Magna assembles and provides just-in-time delivery of complete seat systems for Ford. The 215,000-sq.ft. plant is expected to employ approximately 200 people at full production to turn out approximately 240,000 complete seat systems per year.
Magna’s second new facility in Sanand manufactures body and chassis systems for Ford. The 356,000-sq.ft. plant is expected to employ about 400 people at full production.
While the new plants reflect business awards for vehicles that are built from global-platform architectures, they also help position Magna for further growth in India as vehicle production expands. Magna’s current presence in India includes approximately 1,600 employees. With the two new Sanand facilities, Magna has 11 manufacturing locations and three engineering centres.
Magna International is a leading global automotive supplier with 285 manufacturing operations and 83 product development, engineering and sales centres in 29 countries. With over 125,000 employees focused on delivering superior value to customers through innovative products and processes and world-class manufacturing, the product capabilities include body, chassis, exterior, seating, powertrain, electronic, vision, closure and roof systems and modules, as well as complete vehicle engineering and contract manufacturing.
