Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC celebrated the grand opening of its new actuator manufacturing facility based in Acuña, Mexico. This facility marks the opening of the third manufacturing plant, expanding its Acuña operations.
The Acuña III site, located near the Bendix Acuña I and Acuña II plants, manufactures actuator products, including spring brakes and service chambers. The 67,000-square-foot former brownfield was leased by Bendix in May 2010 and has been refurbished and upgraded to meet the company’s manufacturing and quality standards for facilities, equipment, and production layout. Lean manufacturing experts have reviewed the entire production process using a Systematic Layout Planning model to ensure maximum efficiency.
The Acuña III facility is expected to produce at least one million actuators per year for Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC, the joint venture of Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC and Dana Commercial Vehicle Products LLC.
Attending the grand opening celebration was Klaus Deller, member of the executive board of Knorr-Bremse AG; Joe McAleese, president and chief executive officer of Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems; Walt Frankiewicz, president of Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake; Scott Burkhart, vice-president and general manager of the controls group at Bendix; Steve Mance, vice-president and general manager of the charging group at Bendix; Eddie Wilkinson vice-president of quality and product safety at Bendix; Jorge Torres, governor of Coahuila, Mexico; Jesus Maria Ramon Valdes, a member of the Mexican Senate; Alberto Aguirre Villarreal, mayor of Acuña; and Roberto Fernandez, mayor of Del Rio TX.
Those attending the event received a tour of the facility.