HARMAN Announces Groundbreaking for New Manufacturing Facility in Thailand
June 20 2024 - 4:00AM
Business Wire
The new facility - located in Laem Chabang,
approximately 90-minutes outside of Bangkok - will support
manufacturing across HARMAN’s portfolio, with a focus on building
road-ready automotive products and components solutions
HARMAN, an electronics technology company and subsidiary of
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., today hosted a groundbreaking
ceremony to launch construction of a new manufacturing facility in
Thailand. The new facility, which will be approximately 47,000 sqm
in size, will be located just 125 kilometers outside of Bangkok in
Laem Chabang, strategically sited within Thailand’s Eastern
Economic Corridor (EEC) and in close proximity to manufacturing
facilities for numerous leading global automotive and technology
brands.
While the facility will support several of HARMAN’s automotive
business units, manufacturing at the new Thailand location will
focus primarily on developing products for the company’s automotive
division. HARMAN is a global leader in delivering road-ready
connected vehicle products that turn cutting-edge technology – like
Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence – into meaningful
automotive experiences that matter to consumers. The new
manufacturing facility in Thailand will enable the company to
further scale these solutions and effectively deliver on its
promise of building in-cabin consumer experiences at an automotive
grade.
HARMAN Automotive President Christian Sobottka, along with other
HARMAN senior leaders, celebrated the commencement by breaking
ground with Thailand Minister of Industry Pimphattra Wichaikul and
other Thai officials who spoke to the economic, innovation and
growth synergies that HARMAN’s new facility will support in the
region.
“At HARMAN, we are laser-focused on ensuring we can deliver the
road-ready automotive products our OEM partners need, providing
consumers with the connected lifestyle experiences they’ve come to
expect in their vehicles,” said Christian Sobottka, President of
HARMAN Automotive. “Expanding our manufacturing footprint in a
location like Thailand offers enormous benefits including a rich
talent pool and close proximity to OEM partners. In addition to
offering years of manufacturing experience supporting both the
automotive and technology sectors, Thailand is rapidly transforming
into a major production hub for both electric vehicles and the next
generation of automotive technology. The synergies between
Thailand’s growing investments in high-tech manufacturing and the
rapid pace needed to support today’s automotive customers make our
decision to commit to the region an easy one.”
“HARMAN’s decision to build a new manufacturing facility in Laem
Chabang is truly a win-win for all,” said Mr. Danainat Chockamnuay,
Advisor to Thailand’s Minister of Industry. “The investment aligns
perfectly with Thailand’s broader economic development strategy,
which includes fostering technological advancement and establishing
a robust next-generation automotive supply chain. Furthermore, the
new facility will contribute to the local economy by providing
workforce training and new job opportunities to 1,200 local
workers.”
HARMAN is working with ESR Group Limited (“ESR”) Asia-Pacific’s
leading New Economy real asset manager on the facility design and
build. To complement Thailand’s Bio-Circular-Green economic
development concept, ESR’s design for HARMAN’s facility will adhere
to FM Global standards in safety and resilience, and target to
attain Gold certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (“LEED”), which is the most widely used green building
rating system in the world and a recognized symbol of
sustainability achievement and leadership.
HARMAN has a global Operations presence with automotive
manufacturing facilities in Brazil, China, Hungary, India, and
Mexico, including more than 12,000 employees dedicated to
delivering products and services to our customers at the right
cost, quality and delivery. Thailand was selected as the site
location for HARMAN’s newest manufacturing facility because of the
country’s high vehicle production volume, existing significant OEM
presence, and talent-rich environment for technology manufacturing.
While construction on the facility is expected to be completed in
Q4 of 2025, HARMAN will begin hiring locally for select roles this
fall and plans to build its local workforce to approximately 1,200
initially leading up to the facility’s official opening date slated
for later next year.
For more information on HARMAN Automotive please visit
car.harman.com.
ABOUT HARMAN
HARMAN (harman.com) designs and engineers connected products and
solutions for automakers, consumers, and enterprises worldwide,
including connected car systems, audio and visual products,
enterprise automation solutions; and services supporting the
Internet of Things. With leading brands including AKG®, Harman
Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson® and Revel®,
HARMAN is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment
venues where they perform around the world. More than 50 million
automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and
connected car systems. Our software services power billions of
mobile devices and systems that are connected, integrated and
secure across all platforms, from work and home to car and mobile.
HARMAN has a workforce of approximately 30,000 people across the
Americas, Europe, and Asia. In March 2017, HARMAN became a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
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Dawn Geary Director, Global Communications – Automotive +1
248-463-0921 Dawn.Geary@harman.com