 | Greenville business & community directory |
|
This is an archived page that may contain outdated or incorrect information. Please visit www.Greenville.com for the latest news, events, and more.
Siemens VDO Automotive announced plans to establish a North American diesel systems headquarters with the creation of its Powertrain Diesel Systems North America division, to be located in Columbia, S.C. Other Siemens commitments to South Carolina include a joint venture plant between GKN and Siemens VDO Automotive, in Greenville; a Siemens Energy and Automation facility in Roebuck; Emitec, and Siemens Diesel Systems Technologies (SDST) LLC, a joint venture formed in 1999 with International Truck and Engine Corporation. The new Powertrain Diesel Systems headquarters represents a $25 million capital investment. The facility will employ 120 people, 70 of whom will be new hires from the region. Siemens VDO Automotive took possession of the 17,500 sq.-ft. leased facility in late January and began refurbishment immediately. The facility will include engine dynamometers and various advanced testing equipment. The company is making this move to better support customer programs and products rising from the growing interest in new-generation diesel engine technology. The new division headquarters will become a national center for research and development, engineering, and testing of diesel fuel technology, including digital valve and piezo electronic fuel injectors, diesel pumps, and fuel rails. �We�re incredibly proud to welcome another Siemens company to South Carolina,� said Governor Mark Sanford. �This is a company that�s consistently pushed the research and technology envelope in creating innovative, high-tech products for a wide range of different marketplaces. Their decision to locate here represents a tremendous opportunity for our state to associate itself with that kind of innovation and we�re certainly excited about moving forward with that partnership.� �Our new diesel systems headquarters creates a center of technological research and engineering expertise in diesel fuel technology, and will support our innovation and leadership in diesel systems technology,� said John Sanderson, Siemens VDO Automotive president and CEO. �We have seen increasing interest from North American customers in new generation diesel fuel technology. The new headquarters allows us to leverage that interest with our diesel expertise to serve our customers.� �To have a high-quality company such as Siemens choose Columbia as the site of its new diesel systems headquarters shows that we�re moving forward in our quest to build a knowledge-based economy,� said Commerce Secretary Bob Faith. �This fits perfectly with the findings of the South Carolina Competitiveness Initiative, which called for activating and upgrading our industry clusters to include high-level, research-based functions.� Siemens VDO Automotive has been advancing diesel systems technologies with the introduction and first industry application of a piezo-electronic fuel injection system in 2000. The technology elevated Siemens VDO to a market leadership position in Europe. Siemens VDO Automotive recently secured a contract with International Truck and Engine Corp to supply Ford Motor Company with piezo injection technology beginning in 2007. Prior to moving to its new facility, the company will temporarily use space in facilities made available at the Northeast Campus of nearby Midlands Technical College, a technical institution with whom Siemens VDO has formed a relationship in education, technology, and research and advancement. �We are fortunate to have a close affiliation with both Midlands Technical College and the University of South Carolina�s College of Engineering,� Sanderson said. �These technical institutions provide the facilities and human capital that support our highly technical research and development.� The close proximity to these technical and engineering schools, combined with a skilled workforce, made Columbia an attractive location to develop Siemens VDO Powertrain Diesel Systems North America headquarters. About Siemens VDO Automotive Siemens VDO Automotive is a tier-one supplier of automotive electronic/electrical systems and components with applications covering gasoline and diesel powertrain technologies, safety and chassis systems, body electronics, plus interior products including infotainment systems. Worldwide sales reflecting fiscal year 2002/2003 totaled $9.589 billion. For more information visit www.usa.siemensvdo.com. Siemens AG, headquartered in Munich, is a leading global electronics and engineering company. Siemens and its subsidiaries employ 417,000 people in 192 countries and reported worldwide sales of $80.3 billion in fiscal 2003. The United States is Siemens' largest market in the world, with 11 of Siemens' worldwide businesses headquartered here and annual sales of $16.6 billion in fiscal 2003. The Siemens companies in the U.S. employ approximately 65,000 people in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Corporate headquarters for Siemens' U.S. businesses are located in New York City. For more information visit www.usa.siemens.com. Editors Note: Related high-resolution artwork can be downloaded from Siemens VDO Automtoive's on-line Media Center at www.usa.siemensvdo.com. (Image provided by Siemens VDO)
|
