News: German auto manufacturer to close Rotherham plant
Global automotive and industrial supplier, Schaeffler, has announced proposals to close its factory in Rotherham due to declining global demand for clutches.
Production will instead shift to Hungary and India.
The board of the Schaeffler Group, a German manufacturer of rolling element bearings for automotive, aerospace and industrial uses, has announced structural measures for Europe aimed at securing a long-term increase in the company’s competitiveness.
For the UK, the measures include plans to discontinue the operation at Waleswood, which is in Rotherham.
The site produces clutch systems with most of the production for passenger cars, although some is for tractors, and most of it is exported. An update from Schaeffler explained that: "declining global demand for clutches is leading to production overcapacity."
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The update reads: "The shift towards automatic transmissions in ICE [internal combustion engine] cars and the powertrain electrification trend have resulted in significantly reduced demand for passenger cars with manual transmissions. This development is also leading to considerable overcapacity in Sheffield [Rotherham]. Schaeffler therefore intends to locate its production of passenger car clutches in Szombathely, Hungary.
"In addition, the company’s production operation for tractor single and dual clutches in Sheffield will in future be sited at its plant in Hosur, India, where demand for these products is increasing. This will reduce production and transportation costs and expand Schaeffler’s production capacity in a growing market."
Subject to consultation, Schaeffler is planning to close the Waleswood plant and transfer employees in the unaffected central functions there to its existing office in Birmingham.
Matthias Zink, Schaeffler’s CEO Powertrain & Chassis, said: “These carefully considered measures will align Schaeffler’s clutch production network with market demand. Discontinuing production in Sheffield and consolidating our clutch production operations will safeguard the competitiveness of our global clutch business and deliver benefits to our customers. Having said that, we are mindful of the consequences of these measures and will now do everything we can to work with our employees in Sheffield to develop fair solutions.”
In 1987, LuK GmbH acquired Laycock Engineering Limited and started planning a purpose built factory in South Yorkshire. It opened on Waleswood Road, close to the M1, in 1989.
The Rotherham plant was saved from closure in 2018 when Schaeffler announced restructure plans for the UK influenced by uncertainties over Brexit. At the time Rotherham was the biggest of Schaeffler's UK locations in terms of revenues and employee numbers and plants in Llanelli and Plymouth were earmarked for closure.
Schaeffler website
Images: Google Maps
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Production will instead shift to Hungary and India.
The board of the Schaeffler Group, a German manufacturer of rolling element bearings for automotive, aerospace and industrial uses, has announced structural measures for Europe aimed at securing a long-term increase in the company’s competitiveness.
For the UK, the measures include plans to discontinue the operation at Waleswood, which is in Rotherham.
The site produces clutch systems with most of the production for passenger cars, although some is for tractors, and most of it is exported. An update from Schaeffler explained that: "declining global demand for clutches is leading to production overcapacity."
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The update reads: "The shift towards automatic transmissions in ICE [internal combustion engine] cars and the powertrain electrification trend have resulted in significantly reduced demand for passenger cars with manual transmissions. This development is also leading to considerable overcapacity in Sheffield [Rotherham]. Schaeffler therefore intends to locate its production of passenger car clutches in Szombathely, Hungary.
"In addition, the company’s production operation for tractor single and dual clutches in Sheffield will in future be sited at its plant in Hosur, India, where demand for these products is increasing. This will reduce production and transportation costs and expand Schaeffler’s production capacity in a growing market."
Subject to consultation, Schaeffler is planning to close the Waleswood plant and transfer employees in the unaffected central functions there to its existing office in Birmingham.
Matthias Zink, Schaeffler’s CEO Powertrain & Chassis, said: “These carefully considered measures will align Schaeffler’s clutch production network with market demand. Discontinuing production in Sheffield and consolidating our clutch production operations will safeguard the competitiveness of our global clutch business and deliver benefits to our customers. Having said that, we are mindful of the consequences of these measures and will now do everything we can to work with our employees in Sheffield to develop fair solutions.”
The Rotherham plant was saved from closure in 2018 when Schaeffler announced restructure plans for the UK influenced by uncertainties over Brexit. At the time Rotherham was the biggest of Schaeffler's UK locations in terms of revenues and employee numbers and plants in Llanelli and Plymouth were earmarked for closure.
Schaeffler website
Images: Google Maps
