Getrag restructures, stays upbeat

Following reports that its Ludwigsburg plant was set to close, German transmissions supplier Getrag has announced that its operations will continue at all its current locations. In addition, a new Getrag facility will start production in Mexico in late 2009 or early 2010.

The company's Ludwigsburg operations will be re-located to a smaller site nearby, which will become the company's centre of excellence for the hard machining of engine timing gears. Other functions - and jobs - will move to Getrag's Neuenstein and Rosenberg sites.

The German company admits that in current market conditions, it must make savings of some €27 million (34 Million USD). This will mean that - if the redundancies announced in November are included - Getrag will shed some 350 jobs in Germany alone.

Nonetheless, the company remains upbeat about the global rollout of its dual-clutch technology, as illustrated by its plans for a new $500 million plant in Mexico. A joint venture with Getrag Ford, this will be located at the Castro Del Rio industrial park in Irapuato, about 300 km northwest of Mexico City. In its first phase, this facility will employ about 400 people in the assembly of gears and shafts; with projected expansions of capacity, it s anticipated that this figure could rise to 1300 employees.

Story Filed: 3/10/2009
By Tony Lewin, managing editor DCTfacts.com