PLYMOUTH — HELLA, a supplier of automotive lighting and electronics, will manufacture electronic products in Brazil in partnership with Sao Paulo-based Emicol, one of Brazil’s leading producers of electronic and electro-mechanical components.
Production of HELLA body-control modules for a major global automotive manufacturer is expected to begin within the next 12 months at an Emicol Eletro Eletronica facility in Itu in the State of Sao Paulo, according to Dr. Martin Fischer, CEO of HELLA’s Electronics Division in the Americas.
“Our new partnership with Emicol will strengthen HELLA’s presence in South America and further broadens our manufacturing footprint throughout the Americas,” said Wendell Gomes Schmiedecke, managing director of HELLA do Brazil Automotive LTDA. “Our goal is to further improve the service HELLA provides to its customers throughout the region.”
Schmiedecke noted that HELLA plans a considerable investment in equipment for its new Brazilian manufacturing operations, adding that Emicol will assemble and warehouse HELLA electronics products as part of the program.
HELLA has had a sales presence in Brazil for more than a decade. Founded in Itu in 1967, Emicol is a major supplier of components for use in the home-appliance, automotive, medical and information-technology sectors.
Fischer said that HELLA sees the potential for considerable growth in Latin America for products such as accelerator pedal sensors, throttle position sensors, intelligent battery sensors and other electronic products.
Fischer also noted that HELLA recently completed a 50,000-square-foot addition at its San Jose Iturbide electronics plant north of Mexico City. This expansion will enable HELLA to increase production in a variety of components for customers in the U.S., Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, including accelerator pedal sensors, vacuum pumps, body control modules, transmission range sensors and surface-mount technology products.
