Automotive and commercial vehicle interiors supplier International Automotive Components (IAC, Luxembourg; www.iacgroup.com) has opened a 6,700 m² manufacturing facility that complements its current Halewood / UK operation and a 12,500 m² facility in Elmdon near Birmingham / UK.

The new Halewood facility is home to the production of headliners, centre consoles and overhead system assemblies which was previously housed in the first plant on the site. This allows space in the original plant to enhance instrument panel and cockpit production and support increased complexity and production volumes, the company said. The site also supplies JIT and in-sequence cockpit, centre consoles and overhead systems for the Range Rover “Evoque” and Land Rover "Discovery Sport".

The Elmdon site hosts manufacturing, a design and technical centre, and the UK regional administrative functions and is strategically located near the Jaguar Land Rover engineering centres in Whitley and Gaydon, as well as the Solihull production site.

The company said that the addition of the two facilities extends its capability to support its domestic and Asian OEM customers from five locations across the UK. IAC has increased the number of employees in the UK from around 700 in 2007 to more than 2,200 today.

Robert Miller, president and CEO of IAC Group, said: “The addition of these new manufacturing and engineering facilities substantially reinforces our ability to serve customers in this region, but also extends our global footprint, which has increased by more than a dozen new locations around the world over the past 24 months.”