Brose Group, the world's fourth-largest family-owned automotive supplier, holds an opening ceremony for its new plant in Taicang, Jiangsu province on Nov 26. [Photo/brose.com]

The German company Brose Group, the world's fourth-largest family-owned automotive supplier, held an opening ceremony for its new plant in Taicang, Jiangsu province on Nov 26.

"The new plant in Taicang is not only the largest manufacturing sites belonging to Brose in Asia, but also one of Brose's five leading plants in the world,” said Thomas Spangler, the Chief Technology Officer of Brose Group, who is responsible for Brose's plants worldwide, at the opening ceremony.

Spangler added that the establishment of the plant fully reflects Brose Group's support for China's business development and its strong commitment to the Chinese market.

The new plant covers 73,000 square meters with an investment of 1.4 billion yuan ($203 million). Constructed in two stages, the first stage of the project was put into service in July and the second is under construction.

By 2024, the plant is expected to house more than 1,600 staff members and generate over 5.8 billion yuan in a year, ranking first in Brose Asia.

The plant will produce nearly the entire range of Brose products, including door systems, window regulators, latch modules, seat systems, seat rails and seat motors.

Automation levels at the new plant are the highest in Brose Asia; nearly 100 percent of seat component production is automated.

In addition, the plant has introduced various industry-leading production processes. It monitors the welding process in real time to reduce scrap rates and lower quality risks for customers; its plastic injection molding adopts a central feeding system, and pneumatic manipulators realize unmanned operation and create a flexible and intelligent product manufacturing network.

The Brose Group operates in 23 countries with over 26,000 employees and enjoys an annual turnover exceeding 46.6 billion yuan. Its customers include renowned automobile manufacturers from home and abroad, such as Ford, Geely, Jaguar Land Rover, Volkswagen and Volvo.

Brose started its businesses in China in 1996. It currently has a presence through 11 sites in six of China's most important automotive regions (Shanghai, Beijing, Changchun, Chongqing, Wuhan and Guangzhou).

The new Taicang plant boasts the highest automation levels in Brose Asia. [Photo/brose.com]