Alpine 2013 Annual Report Download - page 10

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Mexico Plant Expansion to Strengthen Global Production Network
With the North American
automobile market steadily
recovering, we plan a year-on-year
20% expansion of production
volume at Alcom Electronicos de
México S.A. de C.V., our core
North American production base,
in fiscal 2013.
With an eye on the North
American market and expansion
of the Latin American automobile
market, many automakers are
establishing and expanding production operations in Mexico. To meet an expected increase in demand for
our products, we plan to build a new plant on available land at the Alcom Electronicos site and expand
production capacity in fiscal 2013.
Alpine established Alcom Electronicos back in 1992 as its production site to supply the North American
market. Since becoming a joint venture with Alps Electric in 1995, the Mexican company has produced car
electronics products and automotive components for both Alps Electric and Alpine.
In addition to the addition of a new plant at the facility, existing production lines will be optimized to raise
efficiencies on Alps Electric’s automotive component lines and throughout the facility. By promoting local
production for supplying the local market, we aim to create a production structure that enhances our ability
to respond flexibly to changes in customer orders while shortening lead times and reducing inventories.
Mexican plant will be expanded in fiscal 2013
Establishment of Alpine Customer Service (USA), Inc.
In April 2013, we established a local subsidiary to provide repair and other after-sale services for
Alpine's OEM car electronics products in the North American market. Previously, repair and
maintenance services in this key market were outsourced, but we decided to bring this important
service within the Group in order to determine the cause of problems and repair them more quickly.
Alpine products have evolved into more advanced systems as electronics have come into greater use
in automobiles. More recently, connectivity with smartphones and other mobile devices has become
an increasingly important function for in-vehicle electronics systems.
Repair services for these complex and advanced systems require high level analytical technologies.
We therefore decided that bringing these repair services in-house would enable us to provide
customers with quicker, more dependable responses. In addition, Alpine Customer Service (USA)
will be able to provide feedback to our R&D units that will enable us to further enhance product
quality.