Expanding its manufacturing footprint further into Eastern Europe, International Automotive Components (IAC) this week broke ground for a greenfield plant in Opole, Poland. The facility, which will manufacture tailored instrument panels for premium passenger cars, will be operational in mid-2017 and accounts for an investment of about $20 million.
IAC Opole will be built in steps over the course of 2017, and will cover 27,000 m² (290,625 square feet). It will serve as the company’s 27th plant in Europe, further extending IAC’s manufacturing footprint in the growing Eastern European automotive region.
Although initially built to provide premium customized instrument panels, the plant has been designed to support future growth, as many international OEMs are establishing plants in the region, according to IAC.
The facility will initially focus on highly crafted cut and sew operations as well as hand-wrapped premium instrument panels. IAC Opole is expected to generate approximately 550 skilled jobs in the region.