The investment at its plant in Bulgaria is said to be in reaction to the ramp up in popularity of its new sports utility vehicle (SUV). The vehicle is available with multiple seating configurations, so the demand for seating frames and hardware has seen commensurate growth.
Ben Cox, manager at William Hughes Bulgaria, said: “The output for the various seating modules and formats is now about 30% higher than the original anticipated peak production plan. And with the automotive industry relying on just-in-time delivery for primary modules, such as seating, we knew that we had to pull out all the stops to ensure our tier-one customer would not disrupt production.
“The seat frame for this model is unusually heavy duty – being a welded-wire assembly designed to complement the vehicle’s impressive off-road reputation,” Cox continued. “The new welding cells, Fanuc robots and additional tooling have enabled us to meet our delivery quotas for this model and, indeed, other projects in the future, which will also benefit from the added efficiencies we can bring through automation and fabrication at scale.”
“The Bulgarian factory is ideally placed to satisfy the demands of the Eastern European OEMs,” Cox concluded. “With hand-to-mouth delivery, being on their doorstep – or at least in the same neighbourhood – removes many of the logistical hurdles. And from a technological standpoint, investment like this, and in wider capabilities such as spot-welding for back frames, puts us in a perfect position to satisfy a huge array of OEM demands.”
