Schaeffler inaugurated the new EUR 20 million (THB 778 million) plant at the Hemaraj Chonburi Industrial Estate II on 13 November 2016. The 55,000-square-metre facility had a pilot launch in February, making four automotive components: clutch release systems, clutch pressure plates and discs, mechanical and hydraulic belt tensioners, and synchroniser rings. Its annual production totals 500,000 to 1 million pieces of each product type. The new plant is the company’s fifth manufacturing facility in Asia, along with three in South Korea and one in Vietnam. An engineering centre has also been set up to cooperate closely with its R&D unit in Yokohama, Japan. (Bangkok Post, 13 November 2016).