Automotive safety equipment manufacturer Autoliv has commenced construction of its new airbag propellant manufacturing facility in China.
Being built with an investment of $33m, the new 200,000m2 facility will produce propellants locally in China that further save shipment and inventory costs over the earlier process of importing it from the US.
Autoliv President and CEO Jan Carlson said the new plant will be key in the firm's strategy to localise sourcing of components to China.
"We are already at a 70% localization rate in China with only 30% of our component need being imported from other countries," Carlson said.
"The Chinese propellant plant will increase our localization rate and align our manufacturing capacity to the market demand while simplifying our supply chain."
The firm claims that the new plant is required to meet strong long term rise for automotive safety products in China and other markets in Asia.
The propellant is the pyrotechnic material that generates the gas during the deployment of an airbag.
The new Chinese plant is will increase Autoliv's propellant capacity by 25%, further allowing firm to produce 25-30 million more airbags as per the size of the airbags.
