JATCO Ltd (President & CEO Takashi Hata, Headquartered in Fuji City, Shizuoka, Japan, Capital: 29.9353 billion yen), a manufacturer of automatic and continuously variable transmissions (AT/CVT) announced that it will establish a manufacturing plant in Chonburi, Thailand.  Production is slated to begin in the middle of fiscal year 2013 with volume estimated at 500,000 CVT units per year.  This marks JATCO’s third overseas plant following Mexico and China.  JATCO will also become the first manufacturer of CVTs in Thailand.

The new company, JATCO (Thailand) Co., Ltd., will become an important base for JATCO to further grow its business and to become a truly global company.  JATCO is also determined to contribute to the environment by manufacturing environmentally friendly CVTs in ASEAN, one of the fastest growing markets in the world along with China.

Takashi Hata, newly appointed president of the company said, “The CVT JATCO (Thailand) will produce is highly recognized as one of the major environmentally friendly technologies to improve fuel consumption and CO2 reduction.  JATCO is determined to further contribute to Thailand by producing environmentally friendly CVTs, as well as making investment and creating employment.  On behalf of JATCO, I would like to express my gratitude to Thai government and Nissan Motor Thailand Ltd., which supported JATCO in making this decision.”

Launched in 2009, the JATCO CVT with auxiliary gearbox has an original structure with the addition of auxiliary gearbox to the standard belt CVT.  This CVT design significantly expands the transmission gear ratio while gaining improvements such as reduced size and weight, as well as high efficiency.  This further enables responsive starting and acceleration at the same time as noise reduction at high speeds, greater ease of vehicle installation and higher fuel efficiency.  This CVT has received FY2010 JSME Medal for New Technology and the 61st JSAE Technological Development Award.  Cumulative production stands at 700,000 units and it is now installed in such vehicles as Nissan’s Juke, March (Micra), Suzuki’s Swift and Wagon R.

Since JATCO started manufacturing belt CVTs in 1997, the company has maintained its leading position in the industry through consistent efforts to cultivate and develop global markets, as well as through commercializing world-first technologies.  Currently JATCO is the only manufacturer that has a full lineup of CVTs from mini to 3.5-liter class vehicles.  In 2010, JATCO recorded the largest share in global CVT production at 48 percent.

Outline of JATCO’s New Thai Company

Company Name	JATCO (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
Foundation	July 2011
Capital at the Time of Foundation	4.5 billion baht (100% owned by JATCO Ltd)
Registered Address	Chonburi, Thailand
Land Area	160,000 square meters
Investment	20 billion yen
Product	CVT with auxiliary gearbox for mini and small FWD vehicles
Start of Production	Middle of FY2013
Production Capacity (at SOP)	500,000 units/year
Number of Employees	1,300 within FY2014

Note: Amounts in THB are calculated at 2.82 yen per one THB.