| Birkby’s Plastics has expanded
production capacity at its Yorkshire, UK plant. The €3 million upgrades,
conducted during the summer shutdown period, will help it meet demand
from Honda and other Japanese OEMs.
The firm supplies large injection moulded parts such as luggage compartment
liners and interior trim to Honda, Nissan and Toyota.
Honda plans to increase volumes of its CR-V compact SUV in late September.
Nissan is preparing to launch a seven-seat version of the Qashqai.
General manager Macartan Flanagan said: “We only have a week in
the summer when all our customers are shut down, so we have to do as much
as possible then.”
Birkby’s has expanded its premises to accommodate an additional
1,700 tonne extruder and a 40-tonne crane. It will also introduce bar-coding
equipment as part of efforts by Honda to improve part traceability and
warranty issues.
Honda recently moved its European purchasing operations to the UK. Birkby’s
has been in talks with Honda supplier Kumi Kasei about the possibility
of a joint venture in Turkey. |
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