Japan's NSG Group a leading manufacturer of glass and glazing systems and technology is going to invest over € 90 million in a new car window plant in Chmielów Poland.

Continuing the implementation of its Strategic Management Plan announced in November 2010, the NSG Group announces plans to expand and upgrade the Group's Pilkington Automotive operations in Poland.
The investment involves the construction of a new automotive glazing plant at Chmielow, located in a Special Economic Zone, 30 km south of the Group's existing facilities at Sandomierz. The new plant will be dedicated to the production of windshields, sidelight and backlights for cars and trucks.

The first phase of the investment will increase the Group's automotive windshield capacity in Poland by 1.7 million pieces a year, along with a significant expansion for delivering additional value-added products. A second phase addition of a toughening line will add further capacity for the manufacture of 4 to 5 million back and side lights annually.

The Group's financial investment in the project will be around JPY 10 billion (equivalent to PLN 350 million) The investment is to be supported by Polish government and European Union funding. Around 400 new jobs, in addition to those in outsourced services, will have been created by the time all operations begin production.
NSG Group President and CEO Craig Naylor said “Poland is an important market and operational centre for the Group, in which we have been present since 1993. We operate under the Pilkington brand in the Automotive OE, Automotive Aftermarket (AGR) and Building Products markets in Poland, currently employing around 1,800 people on 11 sites throughout the country.

This important new investment in our Automotive operations in Poland is intended both to expand our overall capacity in laminated and toughened parts and to enhance our capability to meet increasing demand for value-added products in the Automotive glazing sector”.

The new tertiary operation lines are due to come on stream in mid-calendar year 2011, with the secondary operation lines being commissioned from mid-2012 through to the end of calendar year 2013. a leading manufacturer of glass and glazing systems, has announced plans to build a new car-window plant in Chmielów. NSG Group operates in Poland through its subsidiary, Pilkington Automotive Poland.

The investment is expected to cost zł.350 million and will be supported by funding from the EU and the Polish government. Around 400 jobs will be created.

The new plant will produce car windshields, and will manufacture 1.7 million of them every year. The factory is also to produce around 4-5 million side and taillights annually.

Craig Naylor NSG Group president and CEO said on the group's website “This important new investment in our automotive operations in Poland is intended both to expand our overall capacity in laminated and toughened parts and to enhance our capability to meet increasing demand for value-added products in the automotive glazing sector.”

According to Anna Osowska, a spokesperson at Pilkington Automotive Poland, work on the site in Chmielów will start this year. She added that the plant will be operational in 2012, reports Industry Week.

NSG Group has been in Poland since 1993 and currently operates 11 sites in the country, employing 1,800 people. The new plant in Chmielów will be built 30 kilometers away from the company's plant in Sandomierz.

The new investment is part of the NSG Group's “Strategic Management Plan” announced in November 2010.
These plans remain thus far unaffected by the earthquake that hit Japan on Friday. Following the news, the company wrote on its website that “the potential financial impact of the earthquake on the Group's performance is still unknown at this stage.”

It added, “However, if circumstances arise that call for any change to our current financial outlook, we will implement timely disclosure.”