ZF opens new axle systems plant in Australia €18 million investment - Direct delivery to GM Holden

One of the 150 employees on the assembly line at the new plant, which supplies front and rear axle systems to manufacturer GM Holden

The ZF Car Chassis Technology Division, ZF Lemfoerder, opened a new plant in Adelaide to supply Australian vehicle manufacturer GM Holden. ZF invested €18 million in the project. The plant supplies just-in-sequence front and rear axle systems to the GM Holden for the new Holden VE model. ZF currently has 150 employees working at the new plant. Annual sales for 2007 are expected to reach approx. €190 million.

The new plant is the tenth for the ZF division that specializes in complete axle systems for the automotive industry. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Reinhard Buhl, ZF Board of Management Member in charge of the Car Driveline Technology Division said, "As a system supplier, we have built up a worldwide network. In order to provide the best products at the lowest cost, our new plant in Adelaide is supplied by ZF factories in the USA, Europe, China, and Australia."

The ZF Car Chassis Technology Division currently produces 850,000 axle sets per year at plants in North America, Asia, Europe, South Africa, and Australia. With around 1,500 workers, ZF axle system business generated €1.4 billion in 2006.

Rubber-metal components are supplied by ZF Boge Elastmetall from its plant in Dingley near Melbourne. With around 90 employees, the company's annual sales are expected to reach €16 million in 2007. Steering columns for the Holden VE are supplied by ZF Lenksysteme plants in North America.

Car manufacturers including Toyota, GM Holden, Ford, and Mitsubishi produce nearly 350,000 vehicles each year in Australia. Around 40 percent of this production volume is exported.