Howdy, Neighbor

Automotive Manufacturing & Production,  Nov, 2000  by Jeff Sabatini

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Valeo dedicated its first greenfield factory in North America in September: a new electronics plant that will initially make ultrasonic park assist sensors for Ford SUVs. While this isn't earth shattering in and of itself, what is particularly significant is the plant's location: Fort Worth, Texas.

Valeo executives explain that the decision to locate there was largely based on having corporate neighbors like Nokia, AT&T, Southwest Bell, and Intel in the DFW area, as well as the established electronics-manufacturing infrastructure in central Texas (Dell, Compaq, etc.). For a company that predicts that 30% of its business in 2005 will come from products that don't exist today--predominantly electronics--being in such a hotbed of engineering and manufacturing talent is crucial. As Valeo has made a strategic decision to stuff its own circuit boards (the logic being that this gives it a faster market response time as well as better process control than farming this task out to a supplier), the availability of exce llent technical support for its production equipment also played into the decision. As a real estate agent would say, "Location, location, location..."

COPYRIGHT 2000 Gardner Publications, Inc.
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