New trim plant will produce vinyl components for Ford, GM and VW in China

A major German Tier One automotive supplier has opened a new facility in China. Benecke Changshun Auto Trim – which is part-owned by Contitech subsidiary Benecke-Kaliko – has invested E10m in the plant. In May, it will begin series production of expanded vinyl and leatherette and supply them to local production sites for Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen.

To date, 50 employees have handled pilot-scale production. After May, the workforce will be raised to around 80 people. Initial production will be 170,000 sq metres per month, but the company aims to increase this four-fold in future. “With this new plant, we have followed our customers to China,” said Dirk Leiss, board chairman of Benecke-Kaliko. “We have further expanded our market leadership for high-quality surface materials for the automotive industry.”