Chinese automotive parts supplier Yanfeng Automotive Interiors (YFAI, Shanghai / China; www.yfai.com) has officially opened its second plant in the Czech Republic (see also Plasteurope.com of 22.04.2016). Production of dashboards and door trim is scheduled to start at the new site of Planá nad Luznicí in the next few months, reports the company. The current workforce is 170, but by the beginning of 2018, YFAI wants to raise the figure to 300.

"With Planá nad Luznicí, we have expanded our existing production network in central and eastern Europe with additional state-of-the-art capacities," said Jochen Heier, vice president and general manager for Europe and South Africa. "We will now begin to gradually raise output so that we have full operating capability and can begin series production by the beginning of 2018."

In Europe, YFAI is concentrating on central and eastern Europe. In the Czech Republic, the company operates a plant in Zatec for door trim, centre consoles and other automotive interior components. It also has production sites in Hungary (Pápa) and Slovakia (Námestovo). In Slovakia, it has a technology centre (Trencín) and – since recently – an Automotive Business Centre in the capital, Bratislava. Worldwide, YFAI – a joint venture of partners Yanfeng and Adient – has more than 110 development and production sites in 18 countries.