October 16, 2008

By Choi He-suk
(cheesuk@heraldm.com)

The French automotive parts maker Faurecia`s research center and production facility in Hwaseong, southwest of Seoul, was completed yesterday.

The facilities were opened in a ceremony attended by about 200 company and Korean government officials including Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo, Hwaseong Mayor Choi Young-geun, Faurecia executive vice president Jean-Marc Hannequin and Faurecia Korea president Lee Seung-kyu.

Faurecia is the world`s ninth-largest automotive parts maker, recording more than 16 trillion won ($13 billion) sales in 2007. The company holds the largest share of the global market for exhaust systems and the instrument panel. The company`s clients include some of the world`s largest carmakers including General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co.

For the new facilities, Faurecia invested $32 million – $6 million in the research and development center and $26 million to build the new plant – in the Hwaseong area, Gyeonggi Province officials said.

The new facilities are the latest addition to the French firm`s investments in Gyeonggi Province that boasts 28 percent of the country`s automobile production plants and about 30 percent of Korea`s auto-part production facilities.

The new plant produces mufflers and converters that are tested at the research center, the company said. A converter is part of the exhaust system that treats carbon monoxide before the gas is released into the atmosphere to reduce air pollution.

According to company officials, the new facilities were built to meet the increased demand from Hyundai Kia Automotive Group and that the company hopes to consolidate its partnership with the carmaker through the facilities.

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