Southfield-based Chassix, a global automotive supplier of precision casting and machining solutions, today announced plans to invest $50 million in establishing a greenfield plant in Ostrava, Czech Republic, expanding its manufacturing footprint in Eastern Europe. The facility, which will cast aluminum chassis and powertrain components for passenger cars, will be operational in early 2018.
The Chassix Ostrava facility will cover 140,000 square feet and be the company’s first casting foundry and third plant in Europe, further vertically integrating the Chassix manufacturing footprint in each of the key automotive regions. The plant has been designed to support future growth in the lightweighting automotive market, as many international OEMs are located near Chassix Ostrava.
“Chassix Ostrava is aligned with Chassix’s global strategy of partnering with our customers to provide tailor-made engineering and manufacturing solutions for safety-critical chassis and powertrain components where our customers need us most,” says Doug DelGrosso, CEO of Chassix.
The facility will initially focus on aluminum casting, machining, and assembly operations, and is expected to generate approximately 350 skilled jobs in the region. Chassix had $1.2 billion in sales in 2016, and operates 24 manufacturing facilities in seven countries, employing more than 4,500 people.
