BMW Group M'sia and Sime Darby Auto Engineering open engine assembly facility

BMW Group Malaysia and Sime Darby Auto Engineering (SDAE), a division of Sime Darby Motors today opened the doors to the new SDAE Engine Assembly Facility in Kulim, Kedah.
Established on a land site of over 2.4 hectares with a built-up area of 8,500 square metres and with a total investment value of over RM 132 million by SDAE, the new engine assembly facility will support BMW Group Malaysia’s growing demand for locally assembled vehicles with the newest capabilities in engine assembly technology as well as support the premium automaker’s export initiatives to other markets in the region.
Equipped with the newest innovation for engine assembly including EST tightening equipment, Dosing and Bonding Technology (DoboTech) equipment, engine engraving, engine oil filling and test machines for hydraulic valve play compensation, leak tests as well as hot and cold testing, the new facility employs an additional 60-person workforce demonstrating a commitment to increasing employment opportunities and career growth prospects within the local job market in the Kulim Hi-Tech area.
BMW Group senior vice-president for production engines and electrified powertrain, Ilka Horstmeier, said: “Today is a very special day; together with SDAE we have managed to establish a new engine assembly for BMW engines in Malaysia. Our strong cooperation with our reliable partner comes to fruition with the assembly of three- and four-cylinder petrol engines, alongside four-cylinder diesel engines, as well as the three- and four-cylinder combustion engines for the Plug-In Hybrid electric vehicle.”
Echoing her sentiments, Sime Darby Berhad chairman, Tan Sri Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Abdullah, said: “Sime Darby Motors’ vision is to be the preferred contract assembly partner for the most dynamic automakers in Asean. We aim to produce more than 50,000 vehicles as well as the engine parts and components for the vehicles by the year 2020. The new SDAE Engine Assembly Facility opened today takes us one giant leap forward in making this goal a reality.”
BMW Group Malaysia managing director and CEO, Harald Hoelzl, said: “Malaysia has long played the role of a strategic partner to the BMW Group in South East Asia and this significance is reflected in our business performance here which mirrors our achievements worldwide. In the first quarter of 2018, the BMW Group is already on target for an eighth consecutive year of record sales with a delivery of 604,629 vehicles worldwide, a three per cent growth as compared to the same period in 2017.”
Hoelzl added: “The positive performance worldwide echoes in Malaysia, where BMW Group Malaysia has already successfully achieved a 15% increase in the deliveries of BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad vehicles in the country, delivering 3,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2018.”
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ministry of International Trade and Industry deputy secretary-general (industry), Datin K. Talagavathi, said: “I am pleased to officiate the opening of the new Sime Darby Auto Engineering Engine Assembly Facility here in Kulim, Kedah today. The new engine assembly facility developed through the partnership and initiatives of Sime Darby Motors and the BMW Group, will not only boost the local capabilities and regional competitiveness of the country but will also create employment opportunities and raise technical competency skills for Malaysians.”
She added that the new engine assembly facility, alongside the assembly plant and the Regional Parts Distribution Centre in Johor by premium automaker BMW Group would promote the exchange of technological know-how, thereby developing a more innovative and talented workforce in line with the transformation aspirations of the country.