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Automotive Parts Supplier Opens New Manufacturing Facility in Silicon Valley

NEWARK, Calif.—Futuris Automotive, a global automotive components supplier, recently announced the expansion of its North American business with the opening of a new manufacturing facility and design center in Newark, Calif., one of several such facilities planned as part of Futuris’s growth and investment strategy in North America.

Futuris's new 160,000 square-foot Newark facility includes state-of-the-art, vertically integrated equipment to manufacture automotive seating and interior systems. It will also include a design and craftsmanship studio, as well as testing, validation, and quality centers, and is expected to quickly grow to about 400 employees, according to a press release from the company.

The company's Newark plant opened for business in August 2014, and is located in close proximity to Tesla's vehicle assembly plant in Fremont, California. Futuris is a key supply partner to some of the world's top vehicle producers, including Tesla, with contracts for the design and manufacture of full seat systems and headliner modules for both the current Tesla Model S sedan and the future Model X SUV. The Newark facility will initially be equipped to manufacture many of Futuris's product offerings, including seat assemblies, welded seat frames, seat foam, and headliner moldings.

“Futuris has been a key partner since the first development of the Model S seating system,” said Peter Carlsson, vice president of Supply Chain at Tesla, in the release. “By bringing a large part of the operation local, we will create a truly vertically integrated seating and interiors manufacturing facility. In combination with the design and development center, we have the infrastructure for a strong partnership with Futuris.”

Futuris (www.futurisgroup.com) designs, engineers, and manufactures automotive seating and interior systems for a range of the world’s top vehicle producers, including GM, Ford, Tesla, Toyota, SAIC, and Chery. The company has design and engineering centers in the U.S., Australia, and China, along with manufacturing facilities in the U.S., China, Thailand, and Australia.