GKN Driveline has officially opened a new 4,800m² facility in Thailand, which the company says will boost its AWD production in the Asia-Pacific region and further afield.
The Rayong facility on the south-east coast of Thailand will supply a number of OEMs, including Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi, manufacturing AWD technology such as front and rear final drive units and electronic differential locking systems for transaxle setups.
The firm says demand for AWD vehicles is rising rapidly in the Asia-Pacific region, with independent forecasts suggesting that production in the area will account for a third of global AWD output by 2020.
GKN Driveline’s Asia-Pacific president, Arnaud Lesschaeve (above), said, “This new facility adds to our all-wheel drive technology capacity in the region and, along with facilities in China and Japan, means that we can continue to meet our customers’ needs. This new facility also strengthens our presence in Thailand, a country in which we have been operating for nearly 20 years and [which is] one of our key industrial hubs in Asia.”
GKN first began manufacturing driveline systems in Thailand in 1998, adding a forging plant in 2003 and expanding driveshaft capacity last year.
Plant director Hideo Miyagi added, ‘We have worked very closely with colleagues from GKN Driveline Japan to ensure we have established world-class final drive unit and electronic diff locker production in a short period of time. We are proud to commence the manufacture of advanced AWD technology in Thailand.”
Pic: Courtesy of GKN plc
July 30, 2015