Huf North America Automotive Parts Manufacturing, Corp., a member of the Huf Group, began operation of its new paint facility in Greeneville, Tennessee (U.S.A.). The existing factory was extended with an addition of 5,300 square meters. For the purpose of process optimization, it will house automated paint application facilities, as well as plastic injection molding.
The new plant has the capacity to produce around 12.5 million door handles per year. With its five existing painting locations in Europe and China, Huf has become one of the most significant providers of painted door handles. In China, every fourth vehicle produced there comes with Huf door handles. The new paint plant—which also offers plastic injection molding, a pressure foundry, electronics production, and assembly—means that the Huf vertical range of production on the American continent now equals that in Europe and Asia. "For around 75 years, we've produced door handles for the automotive industry, and in the mid-1980s, we were among the first to provide painted plastic door handles—at that point for Opel. Since then we've constantly expanded our knowledge of this technology, and today in Tennessee, we've brought one of the most modern plants into operation," says CEO Ulrich Hülsbeck.
With the new plant in operation, the Huf Group has the capacity to produce 72.5 million door handles worldwide per year for its customers in the automotive industry. "We produce door handles for vehicles from all prominent manufacturers, including brands such as Rolls Royce, Mercedes and BMW, but also for many vehicles from Ford, VW, Chrysler/ Fiat, GM, as well as Hyundai and Kia." A further paint plant is currently being constructed in Pune, India, in order to supply automotive manufacturers there. Beginning in 2015, Huf plans to paint around 3.5 million door handles there.