TI Automotive (Auburn Hills, MI) has inaugurated a 63,700-ft² facility Liberec, Czech Republic to mold plastic fuel filler pipes for Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi, and assemble fuel tank systems for Citroën, Peugeot, Toyota and Skoda.

Liberec is TI Automotive's fourth location in the Czech Republic, joining two in Jablonec nad Nisou, and one in Mlada Boleslav, and will have 85 employees at full production. It is the first dedicated plastic fuel filler pipe production facility in the region. TI Automotive currently has two dedicated production lines within the facility, and has optimized the floor plan to add two additional lines as needed.

The new, seamless plastic fuel filler pipes are an integral part of TI Automotive's fuel tank systems technology and provide added benefit to automakers by reducing weight and emissions, while improving packaging options.

"Through our blowmolding process expertise, we were able to develop a seamless filler pipe that provides the same or better evaporative emissions performance as steel, with a significant reduction in product weight," says Hans Dieltjens, executive VP, Fuel Tank Systems, TI Automotive. "The new plastic components provide a tremendous advantage when designing and integrating a complete fuel system and play a role in helping automakers meet new fuel-economy and reduced-emissions standards."

"Eastern Europe features a rapidly growing manufacturing base, and the Liberec location provides us with a facility that is centrally located to our customers within the region," Dieltjens said. —[email protected]