From Site Selection magazine, May 2004

WORLD REPORTS
Edited by JOHN W. McCURRY

Heineken Brews Expansion Plans

Thirst for good suds knows no geographic boundaries. Increased demand has Amsterdam-based Heineken, the world's second largest brewer, contemplating several major expansion projects.
        Heineken plans to increase its capacity by more than 50 percent in Vietnam. The Dutch company is in partnership with Singapore's Asia Pacific Breweries and a Vietnamese state firm. The partnership will invest 38 million euros (US$45.1 million) in the project.
        Heineken is also investing $392 million in a brewery outside Seville, Spain, to replace existing facilities in the center of the city. The new brewery will start producing in 2006, and the move from the old to the new facility will be completed by 2008. Heineken is also contemplating a $40-million plant in the Sverdlovsk region of Russia.


Continental AG
Expanding in Americas and Asia

Anticipating increased de-mand in the NAFTA region, Hannover, Germany-based auto-motive supplier Continental AG is expanding production capacity of tires and brake components with new plants in Brazil and Mexico and a joint venture in Malaysia.
        Continental is investing more than 250 million euros ($US297.1 million) in a new plant in Camacari in the Brazilian state of Bahia and its joint venture plant in Alor Star, Malaysia. Production in Brazil will begin at the end of 2005 or early 2006, while production in Malaysia will begin earlier. More than 1,000 jobs will be created in Brazil and about 200 in Malaysia. Both facilities will supply passenger tires to the NAFTA region, said Martien de Louw, Continental's executive board member responsible for passenger tires.
        "We assume that the market in the NAFTA region will grow by 11 percent to 382 million passenger tires by 2008," de Louw said. "We are getting ready now to deal with this growth."
        Continental's subsidiary Conti-nental Teves began brake production in January 2004 at its new 9,300-sq.-m. (100,000-sq.-ft.) plant in Silao, Mexico. Plans call for the $50-million plant to be at full capacity by 2006, employing 400. The plant will produce about 3 million brake boosters for North American customers annually.


Liberac Proving
Prime Czech Location
Laird Technologies recently opened a new plant in Liberac, Czech Republic.

T he Czech Republic attracted more than US$5 billion in foreign investment in 2003 and continues to be a favorite location for multinationals looking for a base in central Europe. Liberac, one of the country's 14 regions (or kraj in Czech), is the site of several recent projects. Located in the north-central part of the country, Liberac enjoys a prime location bordering Germany and Poland. It is also one of the Czech Republic's most industrialized regions, with nearly 45 percent of the work force employed in manufacturing.
       Japan-based DENSO Manufacturing, one of the world's largest manufacturers of automotive components, is one of the latest firms finding Liberac to its liking. The automobile air conditioning specialist will invest up to $255 million in a plant it opened in May 2004, event ually creating more than 900 jobs. The company already employs more than 600 at other facilities in Liberac.
       Seiji Nakagoshi, president of DENSO Manufacturing Czech, said demand for air-conditioning equipment is rapidly growing in Europe and the new plant will serve that market. DENSO also operates factories in Great Britain, Germany and Italy. DENSO is one of about 60 Japanese companies with manufacturing operations in the Czech Republic.
       Laird Technologies, a manufacturer of shielding materials, has opened a new $19-million plant and development center in Liberac. The operation will employ 200 within two years. Company officials say factors in their site decision include good access from Prague and neighboring countries, flexible cooperation of local authorities and the nearby presence of the Technical University of Liberac. Laird Technologies is headquartered in Delaware Water Gap, Pa., and is part of the London-based Laird Group PLC. Its markets include telecommunications, computers, network equipment and accessory products for aerospace, defense and medical applications.

 


Central and Eastern Europe
Are Gaining More FDI Share in 2004

Western Europe continues to lose ground to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as a destination for foreign direct investment, according to IBM-Plant Location International, the Brussels-based Business Consulting Services unit (www.ibm.com/bcs/pli) that maintains the Global Investment Locations Database (GILD). And the trend shows no sign of abating.
       Eastern Europe's portion of the projects coming to Europe rose from 35 percent in the first quarter of 2003 to 42 percent in the first quarter of 2004. By jobs associated with FDI, too, Eastern Europe won 39 percent of the total in the first three months of 2004, up from 34 percent in the same period in 2003. Western Europe's share fell from 66 percent to 61 percent.
       More specifically, Russia remains the leading destination by number of projects with 21 percent in the first quarter, according to the GILD data. Poland (13 percent), Hungary (11 percent), Czech Republic (10 percent) and Slovakia (7 percent) round out the top five. In terms of jobs, the order gets shuffled, with Slovakia claiming 22 percent, followed by Poland (21 percent), the Russian Federation (14 percent), Czech Republic (14 percent) and Romania (9 percent).
       The charts below show how industrial sectors fared in the first quarter of 2004 compared with the same quarter in 2003 in terms of number of projects and jobs.





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