AUBURN HILLS, Mich., May 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Propelled by growing demand in the rapidly expanding Chinese automotive market, BorgWarner Thermal Systems broke ground for a new production facility at its campus in Ningbo, China. The new 194,000-square-foot (18,000-square-meter) operation will replace a smaller facility nearby. Beginning in December 2007, the facility will produce fans, viscous fan drives, Visctronic(R) fan drives, water pumps, electronic water pumps and oil pumps. The facility is BorgWarner's largest in China.
"The explosive growth in China's auto industry is driving demand for BorgWarner's leading technology and manufacturing excellence," said Freeman Shen, President, BorgWarner China.
Alfred Weber, President and General Manager, BorgWarner Thermal Systems, commented, "This relocation and expansion represents our continued commitment to product leadership in China and reflects our participation in the growth of the Chinese economy."
BorgWarner executives hosted customers, local government officials and other guests at a ground-breaking ceremony on May 24.
BorgWarner Thermal Systems in China is a majority-owned joint venture known as BorgWarner Shenglong (Ningbo) Co., Ltd. The company serves over 100 customers in China including Nanjing MG Motor, Dong Feng Motors, China Sino Truck, FAW Wuxi Diesel, Shanghai VW, FAW VW, ZhengZhou Nissan and Foton Motor as well as oversea customers such as DaimlerChrysler (USA), TATA (India) and Ford (South Africa).
In addition to BorgWarner Thermal Systems, the Ningbo Campus includes wholly foreign-owned operations and offices for BorgWarner Turbo & Emissions Systems, Morse TEC and Transmission Systems.
Auburn Hills, Michigan-based BorgWarner Inc. is a product leader in highly engineered components and systems for vehicle powertrain applications worldwide. The FORTUNE 500 company operates manufacturing and technical facilities in 64 locations in 17 countries. Customers include VW/Audi, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Renault/Nissan, Hyundai/Kia, Honda, BMW, Caterpillar, Navistar International, and Peugeot. The Internet address for BorgWarner is: http://www.borgwarner.com.
Statements contained in this news release may contain forward-looking statements as contemplated by the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act that are based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of the Company, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed, projected or implied in or by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include: fluctuations in domestic or foreign automotive production, the continued use of outside suppliers by original equipment manufacturers, fluctuations in demand for vehicles containing the Company's products, general economic conditions, as well as other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Risk Factors identified in its most recently filed annual report or Form 10-K. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.