From Deutsche Presse-Agentur

COLOGNE, Germany -- Japanese automobile parts manufacturer DENSO has built a new research and development center in Germany, the company announced Thursday.

The $15.6 million project in Wegberg, near the city of Aachen, will be used to develop fuel injector systems for diesel engines, a spokesman for DENSO Automotive Deutschland GmbH said.

The center, DENSO's first outside Japan devoted exclusively to diesel energy technology, could generate up to 30 engineering jobs in the long-term, according to spokesman Rene Fritzenwenger.

DENSO, one of the world's three major suppliers of parts to the automobile industry, employs more than 104,000 people in 31 countries. The company has a staff of 265 at its six branches in Germany.

Fritzenwenger said the company chose the Wegberg location because of its proximity to the renowned Rhine-Westphalia Technical University.

"We hope to profit from a transfer of know-how," he said.

Copyright 2005 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH. All Rights Reserved.

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