Press room

The building of this Mexican plant is part of a double agreement signed by Batz with General Motors and is linked to two big global projects of the US multinational - Epsilon y Global Small Vehicle (GSV)- as a result of which the co-operative based in Igorre in the province of Bizkaia will supply the pedal module and the parking brake lever for several General Motors/Opel models which will be assembled on the Insignia (previously Vectra) platform.

The supply of assemblies and components will continue for the life of the models (around six years) and will equip vehicles of the Saab, Opel, Chevrolet, Daewo and General Motors brands. The carrying out of this agreement has required Batz to build production plants in Mexico, the Czech Republic and China and establish collaboration agreements with Korean and Indian companies. The total investment in these plants and joint-ventures comes to 35 million euros.

Initially, Batz had made a commitment to the Epsilon project, which was going to mean revenue of 190 million euros. Now, with the signing of the new “Global Small Vehicle” project and other local projects, the total revenue figure will increase significantly, to in excess of 300 million euros over the models’ six years of life.

The Bizkaia-based co-operative has an 80% holding in BATZ MEXICANA, with the remaining 20% in the hands of local partners. The surface area built on to house the production facilities and offices totals 7,200 m2, with another 8,000 m2 available for possible expansion in the future. When the plant is in full operation in a few months time it will provide work for 130 people and post an annual turnover of 25 million US dollars.

The pedal modules and brake levers will mainly be for the General Motors plants in the USA. With a small number going to the US multinational’s plants in Mexico. The location in San Luis Potosí, a city with a strong university population, to be found halfway between Mexico City and the US border, will provide skilled labour and an accessible market.

Batz’s intensive internationalisation process is helping to reinforce its image as a top level supplier, as it has a global production capacity and a high level of innovation and development. It is also helping to increase its range of customers and orders by means of its production facilities in Mexico, Czech Republic, China, India and Korea. Accordingly, it increases the number of jobs at the parent plant in Igorre dedicated to R&D, sales tasks and the general management of the Group. This year Batz anticipates a turnover of 103 million euros, 80% of which will come from international sales. 
 

http://www.batz.com