A global leading airbag manufacturer in Tilbury is celebrating saving lives, growth, and a big anniversary.
Autoliv is 20-years-old this year and is adding 20 jobs. Plant Manager Ryan Stevens said the new cutting jobs are returning from Mexico, which is something that almost never happens because the work is so labour intensive and Mexico has cheaper labour. He said the move will give the Mexican plant more space and keep the Tilbury factory more competitive and growing.
Stevens said the plant has 330 workers and plans to hire five more cutters in the spring and 15 others within the next two to three years.
"In June of next year, we'll be bringing a more highly automated cutter back to the facility than what we had previously. This cutter can run about ten times as fast as the previous cutters they had in the facility," Stevens said.
Stevens said the new cutting department will allow Autoliv to handle future growth without adding more facilities.
"What this allows us to do as a company, it allows us to keep being competitive and looking to strengthen our position in the market," he said.
Stevens said the company has fared better than many others in this shrinking auto market.
"We're still holding strong and we're not immune from those effects but doing some of these projects like we're doing with the cutting allows us to offset some of the effects of the declining market and allows us to stay strong within the area," said Stevens.
Autoliv in Tilbury is one of a few facilities worldwide that produces a one-piece woven side impact cushion.
The plant has doubled in size since 1999.
The company started out producing 100,000 airbags 20 years ago and produced 10.2 million this year. It has the capacity to manufacture more than 12-million airbags.