The plant expansion is necessary due to several new customer orders the Roof & Kinematic Systems (RKS) business line has received from renowned European automotive manufacturers in recent months.
So far, convertible roof systems and kinematic solutions have been manufactured in a production area of 16,000 square meters, but a construction work for the expansion of more than 7,000 square meters, including additional logistic space will start in the first half of 2024. The installation of production equipment is scheduled for the first quarter of 2025, and the start of production for the fourth quarter of 2025.
Building on its extensive experience as a system supplier of convertible roof and active spoiler systems, Valmet Automotive has established its RKS business line as a leading supplier of active kinematic systems for electric vehicles. The spoiler systems developed by Valmet Automotive play a significant role in improving aero efficiency and thus helping to optimize the range of electric cars, saving resources and making a relevant contribution to sustainability.
After successfully entering the market with systems to optimize aero efficiency, RKS expanded its product portfolio to include comfort solutions with a focus on charging flaps in early 2022. The experts at Valmet Automotive have developed a modular system that ranges from manual to active solutions for charging flaps and covers the entire car spectrum from volume models to premium vehicles.
- With our innovative aero efficiency and charging flap solutions, designed in our development center in Osnabrück and cost-efficiently produced in Zary, we are very successful. The plant expansion is necessary to meet the demand for our solutions and it represents another important step in establishing Valmet Automotive as a leading supplier of kinematic systems, says Remigiusz Grześkowiak, Vice President Roof & Kinematic Systems, Valmet Automotive.
With the plant expansion, Valmet Automotive is planning to create 350 additional jobs in RKS business line in 2025 to 2027. Currently a total of 690 people is employed in the business line, 130 of them at the Osnabrück Development Center.
Capture: The expansion of Valmet Automotive’s Zary plant will begin in the first half of 2024, creating an additional 7,000 square meters of production space for electromobility solutions. Photo credit: Valmet Automotive