Adient's seating mechanisms joint venture announces plans for a new 90,000 square-meter plant in Changshu China

AYM will transfer current employees from Shanghai and hire local workers to staff the Changshu plant with approximately 2,000 team members. The plant will have special engineering, testing, prototyping and manufacturing capabilities for seating mechanisms, such as tracks, adjusters, latches and related parts. The plant will supply major automakers in China and abroad, including Volkswagen, GM, Ford, BMW, Daimler, SAIC, Mazda, Honda, Great Wall and Chang'an.

"Adient is dedicated to reinforcing vertical integration in core seating mechanisms technologies and providing our customers with state-of-the-art products manufactured locally in China," said Darlene Knight, vice president of Adient China. "With the opening of the new plant in Changshu, Adient plans to further expand our footprint and capacities in China."

AYM plans to start moving production lines and hiring employees later this year with an anticipation of having the plant operational in Q4 2018. AYM will put in additional capabilities and processes as well during the remainder of the year including stamping, electrophoretic painting, welding, fine-blanking, heat treatment and assembly. Terms of the plant construction and investment have not been released by AYM.

"This strategic move and expansion will enable us to generate sustainable growth in seating mechanisms businesses and to strengthen our market leadership in China," said Knight.

As the industry-leading seating mechanisms supplier in China, AYM has full-service, world-class capabilities from product design and development, engineering, prototyping, testing and manufacturing. 

Formed in December 2013, AYM is the 50:50 joint venture between Adient and Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems Co., Ltd. AYM currently operates its seating mechanisms businesses in a 71,000 square meter (764,237 square feet) campus headquartered in Kangqiao Industry Zone, Shanghai.

About Adient:
Adient is a global leader in automotive seating. With 75,000 employees operating in 230 manufacturing/assembly plants in 33 countries worldwide, we produce and deliver automotive seating for all vehicle classes and all major OEMs. From complete seating systems to individual components, our expertise spans every step of the automotive seat-making process. Our integrated, in-house skills allow us to take our products from research and design all the way to engineering and manufacturing – and into more than 25 million vehicles every year.  For more information on Adient, please visit adient.com.

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SOURCE Adient plc