EMPLOYEES of the Vráble-based arm of Kongsberg Automotive, the Norwegian supplier of the global vehicle industry, can look forward to a new order of several millions of euros. Their parent company announced in mid-August that it has obtained a six-year order from a significant European carmaker to manufacture manual gear shifts, which would be manufactured in Vráble. The value of the contract is €28.8 million, the SITA newswire reported in mid August.
Gear shifts from Vráble will be used in a new generation of small motor vehicles of an unidentified carmaker. The production of the gear shifts is planned to start in the fourth quarter of 2016. During its production peak in 2018, the plant should produce over 200,000 manual gear shifts annually.
Kongsberg Automotive began to operate in Slovakia in 2008 when it also took over the plant in Vráble with the acquisition of Teleflex. The plant in Vráble already existed in 1995 when, with only 30 workers, it operated under the name United Parts. Now the plant employs over 840 employees.
