Moulay Hafid Elallamy, minister of industry, investment, trade and the digital economy in Morocco; Mohamed Boussaid, minister of economics and finance of Morocco; and Pietro Gorlier, CEO of Magneti Marelli, signed an agreement for the installation of a manufacturing facility specialized in automotive components production in Morocco. In its first phase of operations, the plant will deliver shock absorbers.
The industrial zone will be located in Tangier, in the free zone “Tanger Automotive City”, and will cover an area of approximately 20,000 square meters (about 215,000 square feet), with the possibility of subsequent expansion. The production capacity, when fully operational, will be approximately 6 million pieces. Production is forecasted to begin within 2019, with the progressive employment of approximately 500 workers by 2025.
The project will require a global investment of about 37 million euros (approximately $43.6 million USD), and will benefit from the support of the Moroccan State as provided by its automotive industry policy.
The activity will initially focus on the production of shock absorbers for cars and commercial vehicles, with the possible extension of the scope to other products.
For Magneti Marelli, the localization of production in Morocco follows the logic of supporting locally the industrial sites and the business expansion of a number of important automotive clients in the North Africa region, and marks the opening of a new market in the Maghreb area.
“We are delighted to be a partner of the Moroccan State in one of the strategic objectives of the country, the development of the automotive industry,” said Pietro Gorlier, CEO of Magneti Marelli. “For Magneti Marelli, the creation of an industrial site in Morocco represents an opportunity to further expand its business, responding to the demands and needs of a number of key clients that are making important investments in the area.”
Elalamy, who welcomes this new facility installation, highlighted that “the Magneti Marelli project feeds the manufacturing and sourcing ecosystems in the context of the Industrial Accelerated Plan. With this new project, a new craft is being developed in Morocco, the value chain is getting more complex and the sector is gaining from a successful integration. The Magneti Marelli activity also will benefit to the network of the local suppliers to whom the Tangier factory will be getting its supply.”
