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6 S ão Paulo – ZF will double its production capacity of electric steering systems in Limeira, SP, in a factory which was once owned by TRW – and formerly, by Freios Varga. According to the president for South America, Carlos Delich, the objective is to make Brazil the center of production of some components of the system to supply to plants that will, in turn, supply the item to car manufacturers in China, United States, and Mexico. “ZF holds as a premise to localize production to clients. The objective is not to export to other markets, but, in the case of some specific components, we decided to centralize production in just one location. We chose Brazil to supply some components in the electric steering systems to other plants”. According to the exec, it is imperative that ZF’s local operation be an exporter. Even though the momentum in the regional market is positive – it is one of the few experimenting growth, as opposed to the European, Chinese and American markets – to diversify the areas of operation has proved an important factor in the last couple of years, especially in the crisis. These electric steering systems manufactured by ZF were the first ones to be produced in the country, originally by TRW. They serve passenger cars and in a few months, they will be exported too, according to Delich. He did not disclose either production volume or investment – but it is contained within the R$ 700 million his predecessor, Wilson Brício, announced as financial injections to the region last year. ZF will be presenting at the Automec product lines for its brands. Focus there is the expansion in replacement – which, in the words of its director of marketing and aftermarket, João Lopes, should present a double- digit growth. Indications on the first day of Automec were encouraging: “We were surprised by the substantial number of visitors on the first day. The showwas crowded. I believe it will surpass, significantly so, the expectations of the organization”. ZF invests in Limeira with an eye on exports EVENT By André Barros