ArvinMeritor gets grant for facility in Wales

ArvinMeritor Inc has received a Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) grant from the Welsh Assembly Government. The award is for up to 1.75 million British pounds (about US $3.3 million), and is intended to improve ArvinMeritor's Commercial Vehicle Systems facility in Cwmbran, Wales.

The grant — to be paid in installments over at least two years — is contingent upon a number of factors. They include requiring ArvinMeritor to upgrade its existing, 750,000-square-foot Heavy-Vehicle Braking Systems manufacturing facility, and adapt it to accommodate additional air brake assembly capability.

This award will play a major role in enhancing the Cwmbran facility's manufacturing capacity, as it launches production of a contract with the Volvo Group to supply air disc brakes for both Renault and Volvo heavy trucks. That four-year contract, which began this year, is valued at more than $250 million.