Suppliers to the New Opel Astra Twintop

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◆ MARCH 6, 2006 AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE 23 ◆

Suppliers to the new Opel Astra TwinTop

Opel/Vauxhall’s new Astra TwinTop four seat coupe convertible gets its preassembled and tested roof module from its facility in Antwerp, Belgium, headrests have self-aligning foam, which helps to reduce the severity of folding hardtop from Magna International subsidiary Car Top Systems. which is alongside the plant where the Astra TwinTop is produced. neck injuries in the event of an accident. The contract for the car’s CTS began life as a joint venture between DaimlerChrysler and Porsche. Johnson Controls supplies the Astra TwinTop’s complete electrohydraulic steering system is split 50/50 between TRW Automotive In 2003, Porsche took full control of the company, which was sold to seating system. The car’s front seats feature active headrests from US of the US and Germany’s ZF Lenksysteme, the steering joint venture of Magna International of Canada last November. CTS supplies the car’s partsmaker Lear as standard equipment. Called ProTec by Lear, the Robert Bosch and ZF Friedrichshafen. – Alex Graham

CYLINDER HEAD GLOW PISTONS: TRANSMISSION ENGINE ESC: CENTRAL INFOTAINMENT GRAPHIC DISPLAYS: EXTERIOR PASSENGER ACTIVE SEATING SYSTEM: GASKETS: PLUGS: FEDERAL-MOGUL, SHAFTS: MANAGEMENT: CONTINENTAL ELECTRONIC SYSTEM: DELPHI, MIRROR: AIRBAG: HEADREST: JOHNSON CONTROLS ELRINGKLINGER, BERU KS PIERBURG, MAHLE NEUMAYER TEKFOR BOSCH, DELPHI, TEVES MODULE: BOSCH SIEMENS VDO SCHEFENACKER KEY SAFETY LEAR FEDERAL-MOGUL SIEMENS VDO INTEDIS SYSTEMS ROOF INNER CYLINDER HEAD: TRIM PANELS: CASTECH FS FEHRER

RADIATOR GRILLE: RETRACTABLE MAIER HARDTOP ROOF MODULE: CAR TOP SYSTEMS BEARINGS: FEDERAL-MOGUL, KOLBENSCHMIDT TRUNK TRIM: PIERBURG BORGERS ENGINE MOUNTS: CONTITECH, BODY VIBRACOUSTIC SEALING SYSTEM: METZELER FRONT LIGHTS: HELLA, VALEO STAMPING PARTS: FOG LIGHTS: INAPAL METAL ZIZALA

HYDRAULIC CLUTCH REAR BUMPER: ACTUATION SYSTEM: DECOMA FTE

STARTER MOTORS: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC, STABILIZER BARS: VALEO MUBEA, THYSSENKRUPP BRAKE BOOSTER HOSE ASSEMBLIES: TELEFLEX FLUID SYSTEMS DIESEL FILTER: UFI FILTERS WHEEL BEARINGS: FAG, SKF FUEL TANK 100% FRONT BRAKE SYSTEM: HOSES: KAUTEX CF GOMMA TEXTRON

BRAKE SHIMS: Suppliers wanted EAGLE-PICHER ADAPTIVE SHOCK If you are a supplier and have WOLVERINE ABSORBERS: ZF questions or want your information DIAPHRAGMS: considered for our cutaway features, CONTITECH, UNDERBODY STEERING ELECTROHYDRAULIC NAVIGATION contact Alex Graham at DOOR LATCHES: INFLATABLE CURTAIN: ALLOY WHEELS: HUTCHINSON/CATELSA CROSS MEMBER: HEATSHIELD: LINES: STEERING SYSTEM: SYSTEM: [email protected] CACERES ARCELOR SEVEX DANA TRW, ZF LENKSYSTEME DELPHI KIEKERT AUTOLIV BORBET GROUP

Schlemmer grows The new plant, a wholly foreign-owned supply line enterprise called Hirschvogel Automotive in Romania Components (Pinghu), plans to supply components to European automakers and their German supplier Schlemmer will open a Tier 1 suppliers that have operations in EDAG plans expansion E10 million factory to make cable protection China. systems in Satu Mare, Romania. Hirschvogel’s move into China stems from under new owners Schlemmer intends to produce 30 million a belief that heavy parts, such as steel com- meters of cable protection annually at this ponents, should not be shipped around the German engineering and design specialist site to supply car and cable producers in the globe, but rather be produced near cus- EDAG has a new owner. region. tomers. The company currently develops On February 17, equity investor Aton Schlemmer owns other production units in and produces parts such as wheel hubs, bought 100 percent of the common stock Italy, Spain, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, China, steering knuckles and transmission shafts for from the families who founded EDAG. South Korea and Brazil. Schlemmer is part of carmakers such as BMW, Volkswagen and Lutz Helmig, founder of the Helios Clinics the privately held Mackprang Group. their subsuppliers. Group in Germany, owns Aton. – Lyle Frink – Rick Miller With the new investor, EDAG also wants to expand its aviation and electrical and elec- tronics sectors. ZF will buy more parts CEO Klaus Blickle said EDAG aimed to be in China to cut costs in the black by 2007 after returning losses Läpple will open its first US factory in this year and in 2004 and 2003. Spartanburg, South Carolina, in 2008. ZF Friedrichshafen is increasing its purchas- In 2004, EDAG’s sales were E561 million. ing in low-wage countries to help deal with The company employs 4,000 people at price pressure from automakers. 33 facilities in 17 countries. Läpple plans US factory Currently, low-wage countries account for – Rick Miller, Klaus-Dieter Flörecke about 5 percent of the German supplier’s to supply BMW models E4.7 billion global purchasing costs. German supplier August Läpple plans to “The goal is to roughly double that share in Visomax will be supplying coatings ContiTech buys the next five years,” ZF CEO Siegfried Goll open its first US factory. for the Rolls-Royce Phantom. Danish belt maker The factory will open in 2008 and will be said in an interview. located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, A top priority is local sourcing for individual ZF Germany’s ContiTech, a unit of Continental, where BMW, its largest customer, has an factories. For example, the driveline and chas- Visomax will coat luxury, will acquire Denmark’s Roulunds Rubber assembly plant. sis specialist’s Chinese factories still are being sports cars made in UK for an undisclosed amount. BMW makes the X5 SUV and Z4 roadster in supplied with components from European fac- The deal is subject to approval by antitrust Spartanburg and plans to add production of tories and ZF wants to reduce that. Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce will use pol- authorities. a coupe/SUV crossover, likely to be called A holding company was established in ishes made by Visomax Coating, an auto- Roulunds, of Odense, produces power the X6. Shanghai in late 2004 to assure parts quality motive polish and coating supplier in transmission belts. Located in Heilbronn, near Stuttgart, Läpple in Asian low-wage countries. Würzburg, Germany. The subsidiary of the Danish shipping and produces body components, doors, hatch- – Klaus-Dieter Flörecke Visomax’s paint finishing system, which it oil company AP Moeller/Maersk Group has backs and roof sections for BMW. Läpple will calls Prometheus, will be used on Aston 1,100 employees in Europe and Asia. make those same components for BMW at Martin models produced at the carmaker’s In 2005, Roulunds reported sales of E70 its South Carolina plant. In its first phase, Hirschvogel opens plant in Gaydon, England. million. ContiTech of Hanover, Germany, Läpple’s US factory will generate about E25 plant in China The system also will be used by Rolls- produces power transmission systems, million in revenues and employ 85 workers. Royce at its Goodwood, England, plant on engine and suspension mounts and vehicle The plant is being developed with Spartan- Germany’s Hirschvogel Automotive Group, a the Phantom. interiors. burg Steel Productions, which will bear family-owned forging specialist, is scheduled Visomax and Rolls-Royce are cooperating In 2004, the company had sales of about 50 percent of the $50 million (about E42 mil- to begin production at its new plant in the on the development of paint shop finishes E2.1 billion. lion) in investment costs. Zheijang province of China during the sec- for future models, Visomax said. – Rick Miller – Ulrich Viehöver ond quarter of 2006. – Rick Miller