Canadian auto parts maker Linamar Corp. has announced it will locate a factory in South Korea, four days after the company revealed plans for a plant in China.
Linamar said last week it has signed an agreement with government officials formalizing the decision to invest in a new plant in the Gunsan free-trade zone in North Jeolla province in southwestern Korea.
"We have been impressed with the enthusiasm, work ethic and capability of the Korean people, a combination sure to lead to our success in this market of opportunity,'' stated Linamar CEO Linda Hasenfratz.
The company said it first conferred with provincial officials in November, and North Jeolla is "providing very good incentives.'' Linamar - which has 10,000 employees at 36 factories and four research centres in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Germany, Hungary and Japan - expects to start production of transmission components and modules in the Gunsan zone factory in mid-2007.
The company said last week it had signed a lease on an existing plant in Wuxi, China, where it plans to start production in the first quarter of 2006 and expand when it wins more contracts in China.
Chief financial officer Keith Wettlaufer said the Korean plant, in a 14,000-sq.-m building already constructed, will have initial annual sales of about $60 million, making seven different transmission products for a South Korean carmaker he declined to name.
He also declined to say how many employees will be hired, or disclose the incentives offered by the government.
Wettlaufer said the Chinese plant will have initial sales of between $5 million and $10 million.
