STOCKHOLM, Sweden, July 13, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Autoliv, the worldwide leader in automotive safety systems, will open a new webbing plant for seat belts in response to the company's steadily increasing market share. The new plant, which will be located in Romania, will increase Autoliv's annual webbing capacity by 25 million meters, a 20% increase of its current webbing capacity in Europe. This action will enable Autoliv to raise its European market share for seat belt webbing to over 40%.
The highly automized weaving plant will have 40 employees when fully utilized. The capital expenditure for the plant is estimated to total Euro 7 million. The plant will be located in Brasov, close to Autoliv's existing assembly plant in Romania for seat belt systems.
Currently, the webbing for Autoliv's European seat belts is produced in its plant in Boxtel, the Netherlands. This weaving plant (Van Oerle Alberton B.V.) also serves other assemblers of seat belt systems, such as the Japanese companies Takata and Tokai Rika, and the American company TRW.
The new plant is expected to start commercial production within a year.
Inquiries: Lars Westerberg, President & CEO, Autoliv Inc., Tel +46 8 587 206 00 Rolf Henke, Senior Vice President European Seatbelt Division, Tel +49 4121 797 215
Autoliv Inc. develops and manufactures automotive safety systems for all major automotive manufacturers in the world. Together with its joint ventures, Autoliv has 80 facilities with over 37,000 employees in 30 vehicle-producing countries. In addition, the company has technical centers in nine countries around the world, including 20 test tracks, more than any other automotive safety supplier. Sales in 2003 amounted to US $5.3 billion. The Company's shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ALV) and its Swedish Depository Receipts on the OM Stockholm Stock Exchange (SSE: ALIV).
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