Honeywell Turbochargers to Come from Slovakia

Following the rise of the China and India to the ranks of automotive superpower and investor's heaven, respectively, the countries in Eastern Europe, once a prime target for the suppliers and auto makers looking for more economically correct place to build their products, have slipped slowly into oblivion.

There are still a few companies that are looking for land in the region, hoping to strike a deal that would bring them a considerable profit in the future. Honeywell, the conglomerate of business that range from aerospace products to specialty materials, is one of the even fewer that managed to strike such a deal.

Honeywell announced this week that it would be building a plant in Presov, Slovakia, which is to be used as a production hub for turbochargers for light vehicle and light vehicle commercial vehicle applications.

Set to start rolling the production lines in 2012, the plant will supply turbochargers for a market Honeywell says will more than double, in terms of turbo penetration, in the next five years. An increase of more than two million vehicles that need turbochargers is expected this year alone.

The company did not provide any specific details on what the products to come off the lines of the new plant will be.

“The new plant in Slovakia further extends Honeywell's leadership in the development of turbochargers," said Alex Ismail, Honeywell Transportation Systems CEO.

"Turbochargers give car- and truck-makers the flexibility to downsize their engines to increase fuel efficiency as much as 40 percent and reduce emissions without sacrificing the performance that consumers demand."