The Haartz Corporation forms Strategic Partnership for Chinese Automotive Market
Alliance will help Haartz meet growing demand in Chinese market
ACTON, Mass., April 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, The Haartz Corporation announced a strategic alliance for the Chinese automotive market by entering a joint venture with the Minth Group. The new company, to be known as Haartz-Minth (Ningbo) Automotive Ltd., will focus on manufacturing automotive interior surface materials utilizing Haartz technology and know-how. The business will be located near Ningbo, China, benefiting from existing resources of the Minth Group's TaiYong facility.
"Haartz is a leading supplier of soft-trim materials for the automotive interiors market, and we serve many of the world's leading OEMs and major Tier 1 suppliers. As seen from numerous OEM announcements in recent years, China is becoming an increasingly important market for U.S. based automakers and suppliers," said John Fox, president of The Haartz Corporation. "This alliance with the Minth Group will help us to meet the demands of our customers quicker and more cost-effectively."
Included in the joint venture is the Haartz product line of moldable surface materials for various interior components including door panels, instrument panels and center consoles. These products are based on thermoplastic olefin (TPO) surface technologies which offer weight savings and reduced volatile organic compound emissions to the finished components.
Established in 1992, the Minth Group began as a small factory located outside of Ningbo, China and has since expanded to become a leading supplier in design, manufacturing and sales of body structural parts, trims and decorative parts of passenger vehicles.
Approval from the Chinese government is needed for the new company. Initial plans call for production of TPO foils and foam laminates based on Haartz technology. Assuming timely approval of all permits and registration, production is expected to be underway in the second half of 2017.
About The Haartz Corporation
The Haartz Corporation (Haartz) is a world leader in highly engineered and uniquely designed convertible toppings and interior surface materials. The company's world headquarters and North American manufacturing operations are located in Acton, Massachusetts, with additional manufacturing in Mannheim, Germany and coming soon to Pune, India. Beyond these manufacturing locations, Haartz maintains offices in Detroit, Munich, Tokyo, Irapuato, Mexico, Shanghai and Chongqing, China. Employing over 500 people worldwide, Haartz has been a trusted automotive supplier since 1907, and continues to be privately owned and operated by the Haartz family. For more information, visit www.haartz.com. Join the conversation on Twitter, @Haartz.
About The Minth Group
The Minth Group has 46 facilities in China and nine additional production facilities around the world. Minth is a leader in production of molded trim and decorative parts for exterior body, structural body parts, seat frames, and roof racks. The company has invested in advanced production lines with processes including extrusion, co-extrusion, stamping, injection, surface treatment, plating, chroming, anodizing, and more. Minth has also formed strategic alliances with world-renowned auto-parts producers. The Minth group is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (0425).
SOURCE The Haartz Corporation
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