LS Group's SPSX opens new plant in Serbia
LS Group Chairman Christopher Koo, third from left, cuts the ribbon with Serbian President Alexander Vucic, fourth from left, during an opening ceremony to celebrate the completion of the new plant of Superior Essex, the group's magnet wire-producing arm, in Zrenjanin, Serbia, Friday. / Courtesy of LS Group
By Baek Byung-yeul
LS Group's magnetic wire-producing affiliate Superior Essex (SPSX) opened a new factory in Zrenjanin, Serbia, the group said Friday.
SPSX invested 18.5 million euros ($21 million) in the 14,000-square-meter manufacturing facility on a 40,000-square-meter site. Zrenjanin is 90 kilometers from the Serbian capital Belgrade.
It has been eight months since SPSX held a foundation stone laying ceremony for the plant in March.
With completion of the plant, SPSX will produce about 12,000 tons of magnetic wire products from its 42 production lines, starting in 2019, to meet the demands of the auto parts and electricity components markets in Europe.
The company has been part of the group since 2008.
Magnetic wire, also known as winding wire, is an insulated copper or aluminum conductor. It is used in industrial motors, transformers and generators, automotive applications and electrical coils and controls.
“SPSX added a new manufacturing base in Eastern Europe, which is an emerging market, to seek further development,” LS Group Chairman Christopher Koo said during the opening ceremony. “The new plant will become a core production base in the magnet wire industry, as the plant was launched in only eight months thanks to support from government officials and other related officials in Serbia.”
SPSX plans to double the plant's production capacity to 24,000 tons by 2021, after investing an extra 12 million euros.
LS Group said its affiliates LS Cable & System, LS Industrial Systems and SPSX provide products to the electricity infrastructure and energy markets in Europe.
SPSX is the world's largest magnetic wire maker and fourth-largest communications cable maker in the U.S. in terms of sales. Its headquarters are in Atlanta and the firm recorded sales of $2.02 billion in 2017.
SPSX is the sole magnetic wire supplier to electric vehicle maker Tesla.