chassix

Chassix to Make $50M Investment in New Foundry

chassix

A major automotive supplier with plants in both Benton Harbor and Stevensville has revealed plans this week to establish a new stronghold in the Czech Republic where they will invest about $50-million for a new casting foundry for the chassis and powertrain components in passenger cars.

Chassix will build a new 140,000 square foot facility to expand its footprint into Eastern Europe, where they will cast aluminum chassis and powertrain parts when it becomes operational early next year.

The Southfield, Michigan-based parts manufacturer has sizable contingents of local workers engaged in the manufacture of safety-critical steering knuckles and other components for the auto industry in plants on Paw Paw Avenue in Benton Harbor and on Yasdick Drive in the village of Stevensville.

The new facility for the global supplier of precision casting and machining solutions will be a greenfield plant in Ostrava in the Czech Republic of Eastern Europe. The new factory will be outfitted with the highest-rated machinery and equipment possible. It marks the first casting foundry for Chassix, but is the third manufacturing plant flying the Chassix flag in Europe.

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Although it was initially designed to provide aluminum castings, the plant has also been designed to support future growth in the lightweighting automotive market, as many international original equipment manufacturers are located near the Ostrava region.

Doug DelGrosso is CEO at Chassix. He tells us, “Chassix Ostrava is aligned with Chassix’s global strategy of partnering with our customers to provide tailor-made engineering and manufacturing solutions for safety-critical chassis and powertrain components where our customers need us most.”

The new Ostrava facility will be built in accordance with Chassix’s world-class manufacturing standards and will initially focus on aluminum casting operations, as well as, machining and assembly operations. The new plant is expected to generate approximately 350 skilled jobs in that region.

Sergei Barbero is Vice President and Managing Director of Chassix of Europe. He says, “Working in close cooperation with the City of Ostrava and our strategic partners on site, we anticipate flawless completion of the foundry and expect to attract a talented, innovative and collaborative workforce.”

With two plants and hundreds of employees in southwest Michigan, Chassix had sales last year of $1.2-billion. They operate 24 manufacturing facilities in 7 countries and employ more than 4,500 people in the skilled trades.