Pátek 29. března 2024, svátek má Taťána
130 let

Lidovky.cz

Hitachi to make Czech shock absorber comeback

  10:53

Japanese manufacturer Hitachi to return to abandoned Czech factory to produce auto shock absorbers

Hitachi's earlier exit from Žatec was a big blow to the struggling town foto: © Žatec Česká pozice

Japanese engineering giant Hitachi has announced it will restart production in a Czech factory it closed in 2009, this time manufacturing auto shock absorbers instead of LCD screens.

European director of Hitachi Automotive Systems Takashi Shiraishi announced plans to launch production of shock absorbers at the factory in the north-west Bohemian town of Žatec starting March 2013 with around 300 staff expected to be employed over the year, the Czech server České noviny announced on Tuesday.

Hitachi launched production of LCD screens in the Czech unemployment black spot in 2007 but closed the facility at the start of 2009 with the 800 staff employed laid off. The sudden closure sparked a debate about the investments being plowed by the Czech state at the time into industrial zones and incentives aimed at attracting foreign businesses to set up in the country.

The Czech plant is likely to be one of the biggest manufacturers of shock absorbers for cars in Europe. Hitachi Automotive Systems has not specified who its main clients will be. The group’s biggest current clients are Toyota, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Suzuki and Volkswagen Audi. It has set a target of doubling 2009 revenues to 460 billion yen by the end of 2015.