Horizons Customer Magazine 2026
Production Investments Around the Globe Demonstrate Regional Strategy
Pune plant under construction, Nashville plant expands, and production shifts from Lyss to Most. All these moves follow a global strategy focused on meeting regional needs.
The construction now underway for the new Feintool production plant in the Pune metropolitan region of India, to start operations in 2026, is perhaps the most notable example of Feintool’s commitment to local production capacity serving regional market needs.
In our Asia region, we expect continued long-term growth in demand from automakers in China and Japan, as well as significant growth in India itself. Developing production capacity that is geographically close offers the best way to serve these customers.
This is how we aim to operate in all the regions we serve: as a local partner who is part of that region. Other capacity investments in Europe and North America illustrate this same priority.
Well Positioned to Meet Local Needs
Today, embracing a regional strategy is essential for global success. This principle is truer today than it has been at any time in the last quarter-century. The vulnerability of international supply chains that was revealed during the pandemic began a shift on the part of manufacturers everywhere toward greater reliance on regional capability, and protectionist trade policies have accelerated this shift. Feintool is well-positioned to respond to this priority. We operate extensive production sites in three regions of the globe, with little exporting between regions.
We are now moving to encourage even greater autonomy among regions. As part of a Resilient operating strategy, the regional general managers leading operations in Asia, Europe and North America all operate entrepreneurially, and independently from one another. Instead of decision-making being driven remotely from a far-away head office, GMs make the necessary choices to meet their local customer needs and respond to the business conditions of each of their different regions.
The result: While manufacturing capabilities are advancing in all the regions we serve, they are advancing in different ways.
The new plant in Pune, India, will bring new fineblanking capacity, and later forming capacity as well, to serve automakers in our Asia region. The plant is expected to be operational in 2026.
Plant Shifts in the Three Global Regions
By region, here are Feintool’s recent manufacturing investments:
In Asia, the new India plant will start with fineblanking capacity, initially producing seat adjuster components for various car makers in Asia. Feintool is internationally recognized as a market leader in seat components. Then, in an expansion stage planned for this plant, forming capacity is likely to be added. This will allow for part production for hybrid vehicles for customers in this part of the world.
In Europe, high-volume fineblanking performed at our plant in Lyss, Switzerland, is being relocated to an existing state-of-the-art plant in Most, Czech Republic. Our Lyss site will focus on its role as a center of excellence for fineblanking tooling, as well as for production technologies related to emerging hydrogen applications.
In North America, where our market share gain in the automotive industry has been strongest, Feintool recently completed an expansion of over 4,300 square meters to our plant in Nashville. The expansion will add to our U.S. capacity in both fineblanking and forming, with new equipment including an 880-ton fineblanking press and a 1,600-ton servo-driven transfer press for forming.
High-volume production including fineblanking is increasing at our facility in Most, Czech Republic.
The new plant in Pune, India, will bring new fineblanking capacity, and later forming capacity as well, to serve automakers in our Asia region. The plant is expected to be operational in 2026.
