Press releases
JATCO boosts production in Mexico with second plant
On September 10, 2014, an opening ceremony was held for JATCO México’s second manufacturing plant located in Aguascalientes. This is a part of a $220 million investment by the company that will benefit the local economy through the employment of 900 people. The new plant’s annual production capacity of 400,000 units raises JATCO México’s total annual production capacity to 1.7 million units.
This second plant will produce two of JATCO’s most popular and fuel-efficient automatic transmissions known as CVT (continuously variable transmissions), the Jatco CVT8 and the Jatco CVT8 HYBRID. These are installed in some of Nissan’s most popular models in North America: the Jatco CVT8 is found in the Altima, X-Trail and Rogue, while the Jatco CVT8 HYBRID is found in the Pathfinder Hybrid.
JATCO Mexico plays a central role in the JATCO Group’s goal to be the global No. 1 automatic transmission manufacturer by 2020. Since the first plant started producing CVTs in 2005, it has produced over 5 million units, which is almost a quarter of the 21 million CVTs that the JATCO Group has manufactured to date.
Considering the high technical skill level of engineers in the Aguascalientes area and the strength of Mexico’s economy and automotive industry – where many of the automotive industry’s major players have invested billions of dollars in recent years – it is natural that JATCO chose Aguascalientes to locate its fourth plant outside of Japan.
In fact, this second plant is pivotal to the company’s ongoing transfer of production outside of Japan in an effort to be closer to OEMs and local markets. Located close to Nissan’s second manufacturing plant in Aguascalientes,Mexico, the plant will also act to strengthen JATCO’s relationship with its main shareholder.
In the relatively short timeframe between the second plant’s ground-breaking ceremony to start of production of 19 months, a comprehensive employee training program has been installed to ensure the plant produces CVTs of the high quality synonymous with JATCO Mexico.
JATCO profile
Established in 1999, JATCO Ltd (President and CEO Teruaki Nakatsuka; headquarters in FujiCity, Shizuoka, Japan; capital: JPY29.94 billion) is a manufacturer that specializes in automotive transmissions. Annual production for fiscal 2013 was approximately 5.1 million units, with consolidated sales of JPY710 billion (US$7.1). JATCO’s share of the global CVT market was 49% in 2013.
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