Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Co. Ford Motor Company executives (from left) Joe Hinrichs, president, Asia and Africa; Peter Fleet, president, Ford ASEAN; and Raj Nair, vice president, operations, Asia and Africa, announced in June 2010 a $450-million investment in a new passenger vehicle manufacturing plant in Rayong, Thailand, scheduled for completion in 2012. constructed over 988 acres (400 hectares), and will produce million tons a year through 2013, after which it is expected to double capacity to million tons. POSCO owns 70 percent of the joint venture. investment where the investing company builds all infrastructure and manufacturing facilities from the beginning, this integrated steel mill project, a in Southeast Asia, is said POSCO in a release, existing infrastructure of the partner company such as roads, railroads, ports, power, industrial water supply is maximally utilized, reducing initial investment costs, and quickly bringing the project to regular operation by utilizing the construction and operation experience of the partner The completed mill will also utilize large reserves of iron ores and coal, as it makes products to serve growing demand across Southeast Asia and India. The companies, both with multiple divisions serving a variety of industries, expect to further collaborate in such areas as energy, IT and infrastructure. Materials projects in Indonesia also include textiles, as German South Viscose subsidiary has invested $150 million in a fourth production line to make viscose for textile applications and for the non410 MAY 2011 SITE SELECTION wovens industry. Production is intended for the domestic Indonesian market, as well as for export. The investment is Lenzing largest in recent years, and adds to the $500 million that it has invested in the Indonesian subsidiary up to this time. More Metal Steel will be rolling out of Vietnam soon too, thanks to Formosa Plastics plan to invest $8 billion in a new steel mill and port complex in Ho Tinh province. The project received its investment several years ago. When complete in 2014, the plant will produce 7.5 million tons a year, making it the largest in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, aiming for the target market of Taiwan, China and the rest of Southeast Asia. Like Indonesia, Ho Tinh is home to strong reserves of iron ore. A separate $5-billion integrated steel project from Tata Steel may soon join the fray, once certain issues are resolved between the provincial authority in Ha Tinh and the company. The project, slated for the Vung Ang Economic Zone, is scheduled to be constructed on a 1,792-acre (725-hectare) site not far from the Formosa complex. According to the Foreign Investment Agency of Ministry of Planning and Investment, the country saw $1.56 billion in FDI registered in the two months of 2011. But that was only equal to 68 percent of what was registered during the same two months in 2010. Other recent projects have included a solar manufacturing project from First Solar Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City; a new software center at Quang Trung Software City from HP; a long-delayed mobile phone manufacturing plant in Vinh Phuc province from Foxconn Group; and a new instant noodle factory north of Ho Chi Minh city from Japanese Nissin Foods Holdings Co. A new $450-million passenger vehicle plant is being constructed in Rayong, Thailand, by Ford Motor Co. Announced in June 2010, the plant will begin manufacturing the next-generation Ford Focus in 2012 for domestic and export markets, but may produce other models going forward. Ford plans to purchase up to $800 million worth of local components annually through local supplier network. The new 8-million-sq.-ft. (750,000sq.-m.) facility, fully integrated to support body assembly, paint, trim and assembly, has the potential to support up to 11,000 new jobs including up to 2,200 direct jobs with Ford, and 8,800 indirect jobs through its supplier and dealer networks. Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said the project another important step in our aggressive expansion in the Asia region to meet demand for our world-class Ford products in this fast-growing While Ford was forced to shut its factory in the Philippines following parts availability issues related to the March earthquake in Japan, Marcey Evans, manufacturing communications manager for Ford, says the earthquakespawned crisis had not had an impact on construction of the Thailand plant as of mid-April. decision to build our new plant was supported by world-class automotive industry, and logistics and export said Joe Hinrichs, president, Ford Asia and Africa, at the announcement last year. In September, Ford said they expected 70 percent of the growth over the next 10 years to occur SITE in the Asia and Africa.