TRW Chooses Michigan For New Test Facility

TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. OFFI-cials say the auto industry's current economic malaise factored heavily into their decision to relocate a test track from Florida to Fowlerville, MI.

The supplier's “Florida (operation) had gotten to the point where it needed significant investment,” says Thomas Oginsky, chief engineer, vehicle development-electronic braking systems. “And travel budgets with OEMs have been restricted. You just can't get people to travel down there as you once could.”

In Michigan, where TRW is based, the supplier is closer to the Big Three auto makers and has easier access to test vehicles, which were harder to come by in Florida. Located on 132 acres (52 ha) of former farmland, phase one of the project now is complete.

TRW has poured $8 million into the 1-mile (1.6-km) test track that simulates different driving conditions, which allows the supplier to validate some 75% of its braking, steering and safety systems. One unique feature is a 900-ft. (274-m) stretch of track lined with special ceramic tiles, which TRW says is slipperier than ice.

Phase two of the project now is being evaluated and should receive the green light by the end of this year, Oginsky says.

However, TRW brass still haven't decided exactly what the second phase will include.

Two plans are under consideration. One would see the construction of a small vehicle-development center that could house up to 10 engineers, while the other calls for a much larger facility that could accommodate up to 50 workers. Oginsky says either would require TRW to exercise an option on an adjacent 132-acre parcel of land.

The third and final phase of the project, should it go forward, would consist of a 1.1-mile (1.8-km) handling course and a 2-mile (3-km) test track. A building to accommodate crash testing also is under consideration, Oginsky says.

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