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.March 17, 2004
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This Week:

• The Birthplace of the Minivan Takes on a New Persona 

• Toyota and Ford Conclude Licensing Agreements for Hybrid System and Emissions Purification Patents

• GM Celebrates Start of Construction On New $800 Million Lansing Area Assembly Plant

• Successful financial year 2003 for the BMW Group: Proposed dividend increase

• New smart models increase the pleasure of driving with the wind in your hair

• Renault Modus Concept

• Chrysler Announces Pricing for New 2005 Crossfire Lineup

• 2004 Ford F-150 Regular Cab, Supercab, Supercrew, Receive Government's Highest Rating For Frontal Impact

• Successful development of Volkswagen subsidiary Sitech

• Honda Delivers its Fuel Cell Vehicle FCX to Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.

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Successful development of Volkswagen subsidiary Sitech
 

New press shop commissioned Almost three million seat frames produced Sitech Sp. z o.o., Polkowice, Poland, a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, has very positive developments to report. The company is a development supplier of the Volkswagen Group and has manufactured more than 2.8 million seat structures and 4.4 million backrest structures since production started in 1999. Apart from Poland, the company operates production facilities in Wolfsburg, Emden and Shanghai.

A new press shop at Polkowice was inaugurated with a small ceremony on 11 March 2004. The plant features nine transfer presses and two multiple-die presses. The same day, Sitech also celebrated another landmark, the completion of the millionth series PQ-35 seat frame produced for use in the new Golf, the Touran and the SEAT Altea.

Dr. Folker Weissgerber, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG and Chairman of the Sitech Supervisory Board, stated that the new press shop would allow in-house production of some 260,000 pressed parts per day for PQ-35 steel structures, ensuring cost savings and reinforcing the competitive position of these products. According to Dr. Weissgerber, "Logistics will be considerably simplified. These parts correspond to about 5,000 truckloads per year which would otherwise need to be delivered to the plant." He said that it was especially gratifying that the new shop had created 120 additional jobs at the Polkowice plant.

Dietmar Korzekwa, Managing Director of Sitech, added: "The Sitech Polkowice plant produces steel seat structures for a number of models of the Volkswagen Group, including the Polo, Golf, Touran, Touareg, Transporter and Multivan, as well as the Fabia, Oktavia, Altea and Leon. Manufacturing depth covers the entire value stream. The individual parts produced at the new press shop are welded, painted and assembled to produce backrest and seat frames at Polkowice."

The Polkowice plant can now produce seat structures for about 1.8 million seats per year, with some 1,100 employees working in an area of about 32,000 square metres. By the end of 2004, employee numbers are due to reach 1,485. The plant has an excellent location in terms of traffic systems and offers the benefits of the Legnica Special Economic Zone. In addition, it features good infrastructure, with universities in the nearby cities of Poznan, Wroclaw and Zielona Góra.

Sitech Sp. z o.o. was established in 1998 and production started in December 1999. The company achieved certification to ISO 9002 and VDA 6.1 in June 2001, followed by ISO TS 16949 certification in January 2004.

(March 12, 2004)