BorgWarner officially opened its new production facility in Taicang, China, on September 4, 2014.
With a building area of 161,500 square feet (15,000 square meters), BorgWarner's new green facility is strategically located in a major development area close to Shanghai and is its second turbocharger plant in China.
Propelled by growing demand in the expanding Chinese automotive market, the new BorgWarner facility will produce advanced turbocharging technologies for several automakers.
BorgWarner expects the Chinese light vehicle turbocharger market to more than double from 4.2 million units in 2014 to 8.6 million units by 2019 as emissions standards become increasingly tight. Driven by BorgWarner's escalating growth, the new production plant in Taicang will employ more than 150 people by the end of 2014, and this figure is expected to rise to 500 employees by 2018.
"With our new production facility in Taicang, we are building the foundation for our long-term expansion as a leading supplier of turbocharging technology, engineered and manufactured to improve fuel economy, reduce emissions and enhance performance," said Frederic Lissalde, President and General Manager, BorgWarner Turbo Systems. "Enhancing our capabilities will meet growing customer demand through localized production and strengthen our product portfolio and customer relationships in China."
With a total area of nearly 538,200 square feet (50,000 square meters), the environmentally friendly campus has received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold certification.
Using natural lighting, solar power and rainwater recycling reduces the facility's energy consumption by about 22 percent.
The latest manufacturing plant continues BorgWarner's growth in China. Since establishing a turbocharger plant in Ningbo in 2006, BorgWarner has continuously enlarged that campus, using state-of-the-art geothermal technology to heat and cool the building while reducing energy costs by 30-60 percent without emitting carbon dioxide.
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