On 22 March Nexteer Automotive broke ground on a new facility in Kenitra, Morocco, the company announced in a press release yesterday (4 April). The facility will initially manufacture electric power steering (EPS) systems, with plans to extend manufacturing to driveline products. The company expects to hire approximately 500 people at the new facility by 2020.

“Nexteer’s key differentiators include our global manufacturing footprint and our in-house capabilities in producing high-quality, safety-critical steering and driveline systems. By establishing a new facility in Morocco, we are strategically aligned with our global customers’ needs,” said Hervé Boyer, vice president and chief operating officer, Europe and South America Division at Nexteer Automotive.

Significance: The new 18,000-square-meter facility will be Nexteer’s first in Africa and 25th worldwide. In February this year, the company had announced its plans to open a new production facility in Morocco. Nexteer had signed the memorandum of understanding with the Moroccan Government to invest in the country in July 2017. Nexteer expects the new plant to expand its operations in Africa and Europe.

The US-based company has been expanding its global presence lately. In December 2017, Nexteer Automotive broke ground on a new plant to produce EPS in Liuzhou, China. Construction of the new plant is expected to be completed by October. Before that in July last year, the company opened a new manufacturing plant in Bekasi, Indonesia, to produce brush-column-assist EPS systems. IHS Markit forecasts the global installation of EPS to grow from 66.9 million units in 2016 to more than 80 million units in 2020.