The company expects to end 2018 with approximately 11,480 employees, planning to increase staff numbers within its manufacturing and engineering departments, with a view to implementing new projects in 2018, according to data previously provided by the company.
In Romania, Autoliv holds factories in Brasov, Prejmer, Lugoj, Sfantu Gheorghe, Resita and Onesti (Bacau County), with the last one being opened in the first quarter of 2017. Besides the factories manufacturing car parts, the company also holds in Romania engineering and development centers in Brasov, Iasi and Timisoara, respectively, as well as a European IT competence center and numerous support functions for Autoliv divisions in Romania and in Europa.
In 2017, Autoliv opened an engineering center in Iasi, within the United Business Center buildings of multipurpose urban development Palas Iasi held by businessman Iulian Dascalu. The company said at the time that it plans to reach more than 200 employees at its center in Iasi, during a two-three-year period.
In 2017 as well, Autoliv opened a new production unit in Romania, in Onesti (Bacau County), being one of the fewest investments carried out by a car parts producer in the region of Moldavia.
The company also completed a EUR6.4 million investment in Brasov, in 2017, in a new 2,300-square meter hall where harnesses for vehicle seatbelts are produced. The newly installed production capacity complements the existing capacity in Brasov, and together, the two factories will manufacture this year 236 million meters of harness, 23% more than the existing volume, according to data previously provided by the company.
Swedish group Autoliv opened in 1997, in Brasov, the first factory in Romania manufacturing vehicle seatbelts and airbag systems. In 2007, the company carried out a new EUR30 million investment in its second production unit, in Lugoj. Subsequently, Autoliv developed its business on the Romanian market by acquiring a plot of land of 37,000 sqm in Sfantu Gheorghe in 2012, from pants manufacturer LRO, held by businessman Keresztes Zoltán. Investments in the factory in Sfantu Gheorghe rose to EUR15 million. Early 2017, the company opened a steering wheel factory in Onesti (Bacau County).
Autoliv, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of airbags and seatbelts, with 72,000 employees globally, reported consolidated sales of nearly $10.4 billion in 2017, according to data on Autoliv website. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ALV).