Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automatic transmission components manufacturer BorgWarner Inc. broke ground on a new production facility in Rzeszow, Poland, the company said on March 31. The plant is expected to be completed in 2009 with the initial capacity to produce 500,000 turbochargers for European car makers. The company plans to expand potential capacity to 2 million units over the next two years.
The southeast Poland location allows the company to serve vehicle manufacturers in Western and Eastern Europe. BorgWarner is preparing for an expected increase in market demand for turbocharged engines. The company projects turbocharged light vehicle diesel engine production will grow by nearly 20% in Europe, from about 9.8 million units to 11.6 million units in 2012. Over the same period, the European turbocharged gasoline engine market is forecast to triple from about 1.1 million units to 3 million units.
The 54,000-square-foot operation is expected to create about 200 jobs.
