Visteon Expanding Asia/Pacific Presence

By 2009, Visteon Corp.'s largest regional presence will be in Asia/Pacific as the supplier seeks to grow its business in low-cost countries, a top executive says.

The former Ford Motor Co. parts division sees the region as an area of growth for its products, as well as an opportunity to diversify its customer base, says John Kill, senior vice president and president-North America customer group and global advanced product development.

“By 2009, when you look at our business on an unconsolidated basis, which would include our joint ventures, 40% will be in Asia/Pacific, 26% in North America and the rest in Europe,” Kill tells Ward's.

“So we're going from a very North America-centric company focused on one customer, to having an extremely diverse customer base,” he says.

In 2005, Visteon established its China Technical Center in Shanghai's CaoHeJing High Technology Park. The CTC includes an engineering and administration building and adjacent testing and development facility.

Many of the supplier's recent innovations originated from CTC, Kill says, adding the center also allows for closer collaboration with Chinese auto makers.

Developing and producing new products in low-cost countries has allowed Visteon to keep its research and development budget in check and reduce costs, Kill says.

“But that's not the only answer,” he says. “We do well leveraging our global resources.”

In addition to China, Visteon has manufacturing facilities, engineering centers and business offices in India, Japan, Korea and Thailand.

Kill says in order for Visteon to remain competitive as a global automotive supplier, it's crucial that it maintains a diverse product portfolio.

“Our product lines are balanced very well,” he says. “Roughly a third is electronics, a third climate controls and a third interiors.