AUBURN HILLS – Kolbenschmidt Pierburg has opened its 60,000 square foot North American Technical Center in Auburn Hills, one of three located around the world that will allow the engineering, design, prototyping and validation of products for both local and global automotive customers.
The Auburn Hills Tech Center will initially house more than 70 engineering, technical, sales and administrative personnel, with plans to increase the number of its employees to more than 150 within the next five years. Kolbenschmidt Pierburg also has centers in Europe and Asia.
?This new Technical Center demonstrates our commitment to serving the needs of automakers and engine manufacturers in North America,? said Peter Sebastian Krause, member of the executive board, Kolbenschmidt Pierburg AG, at a ribbon cutting ceremony held at the new facility this week. ?We are witnessing excellent growth in North America because our products are designed to help improve fuel economy and control emissions while enhancing overall engine performance, which are critical issues every car manufacturer is seeking solutions for today.
?At the same time, it is also another important step in our plan to enhance our product development capabilities on a global scale,? Krause said. ?No longer is it necessary to concentrate design and engineering solely in Europe. We now have the flexibility to fully handle our customers? needs at the most appropriate location.?
Kolbenschmidt Pierburg?s North American Technical Center is located at 975 S. Opdyke Rd., at the corners of Opdyke Rd. and South Blvd. Housed in the new Technical Center will be five of Kolbenschmidt Pierburg?s six businesses including Pierburg (air management and emission control products), Pierburg Pump Technology (oil, water and vacuum pumps), KS Kolbenschmidt (Karl Schmidt Unisia, pistons), KS Gleitlager (engine bearings and bushings) and KS Aluminium-Technologie (aluminum engine blocks).
?The new center puts us in a unique position to support North American customers with local sourcing of functions such as finite element analysis (FEA), failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), and product validation, in a more timely, cost-effective manner,? said Krause. ?And, by consolidating our operations into this center, we are able to gain synergies among our five divisions with the services we provide customers.?
Kolbenschmidt Pierburg is investing $11 million in establishing this facility. The company moved from a multi-tenant office complex in Southfield to its own 60,000 sq. ft. facility in Auburn Hills with the help of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) that arranged a state tax credit valued at $3.4 million over eight years. The company had considered sites in Indiana and South Carolina, as well. The city of Auburn Hills also provided an eight-year local property tax abatement valued at approximately $147,600.
The new North American Technical Center lab is scheduled for completion during the third quarter of this year.
The company supplies pistons, aluminum engine blocks, bearings, automotive air management and emission controls, oil, vacuum and water pumps, electric throttle controls, secondary air systems, and electric exhaust-gas recirculation valves. Kolbenschmidt Pierburg has six North American units with production facilities in Fountain Inn, S.C.; Greensburg, Ind.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Celaya, Mexico; and Marinette, Wis., in addition to its North American Technical Center in Auburn Hills.
Kolbenschmidt Pierburg AG is a subsidiary of Rheinmetall AG. The company has approximately 11,900 employees at its six automotive divisions. Global sales for its KS Aluminium-Technologie, Pierburg, Pierburg Pump Technology, KS Kolbenschmidt, KS Gleitlager and Motor Service divisions totaled nearly USD $3.09 billion (2.25 billion Euros) in 2007.
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