Sachs Trnava is investing DEM 10 million ($5.7 million) in new machinery to produce torque converters for bus and truck applications. When production starts next year, the company expects a yearly output of 25,000 converters, said General Manager Peter Doll.
The Slovakia factory currently produces passenger car and truck manual clutches; yearly production is 600,000 units and 50,000 units respectively. About 300,000 passenger car clutches are supplied to Škoda, automobilova in the Czech Republic, representing 100% of the carmaker's needs. Sachs Trnava has received a quality certification from Škoda for the last three years, is ISO 9000 certified, and expects to be QS 9000 certified by February, 1998, said Doll.
The company, operating in Slovakia since December 1993, currently has 290 employees, and expects to expand to 400 employees by the end of next year.
Source: Central Europe Automotive Report
