Magna to open two new facilities in India

Magna International Inc. says it will open two more facilities in India as it continues to grow its global footprint.

The company says both facilities will be in the Sanand region of the state of Gujarat, India, and are scheduled to begin production in 2015.

One plant will make seat systems for a leading automaker and employ about 200 people. The second will manufacture body and chassis systems for multiple customers and employ some 400 people.

Aurora, Ont.-based Magna already has several manufacturing and engineering facilities in India employing 1,600 people producing components for a variety of automakers.

With the two new Sanand facilities, Magna will have 11 manufacturing locations and four engineering centres in India.

“Magna’s growth in markets such as India reflects our customers’ need for world-class, innovative suppliers,” said Jim Tobin, the president of Magna Asia.

“With almost a million square feet of capacity now installed in India, we believe we are extremely well-positioned to support the increasing vehicle production forecast for the Indian automotive industry.”

Magna has more than 130,000 employees at 317 manufacturing operations and 83 product development, engineering and sales centres in 29 countries.