joint venture aims to grab a slice of u.s. seat belt and air bag market : automotive: swedish-japanese company will manufacture belts, air bags at a factory in tijuana.

New NSKAutoliv Inc.
I will make sure that the driver has no choice but to fasten his seat belt.
Joint venture between Sweden and Japan in June
Belt manufacturers will begin to produce electric seat belts in an industrial building in otemesaS. plant.
Before the driver starts the cruise, the motor belt will automatically tie them to the seat.
Although the motor seat belt is not new, the recently enacted federal safety standards require that all 1990 passenger cars sold in the United States be equipped with a \"passive\" restraint system ---
Electric seat belt or airbag--
The use and demand of this safety device will be greatly increased. NSK-
Autoliv is trying to join TRW Inc.
Cleveland, Chicago\'s main players in Morton International and West Germany\'s Bayern chemistry at $3-
Billions of passive and active equipment markets worldwide, including electric and manual seat belts and airbag systems.
\"1994, it should be close to $6 --
\"Billion industries,\" said Claude ginino, a spokesman for TRW, an industry of $7.
Billion international companies involving automobiles, space and defense, and information systems.
On 1989, TRW, a market leader in passenger restraint, released seatsbelt and air-
Bag sales are $0. 82 billion and are expected to exceed 1-
Billion mark this year. \"Gianino added. NSK-
Autoliv is a joint venture worth $12.
Electrolux Sweden and Seiko Japan(NSK)
This is a large Japanese bearing manufacturer with an annual income of US $6 billion.
The joint venture combines the resources of Electrolux motor, a seat --
Belt manufacturers accounting for 50% of European seats-
Belt market and NSK seats
Supplies nearly 20% of the belt sector in Japan.
Mark Lobanov, president of the company, said that although it will start to produce only motor seat belts
Autoliv hopes to start making more profitable air-
Bag system in 1993. NSK-
Autoliv has signed five copies.
Annual lease 40,000-square-
The foot factory in San Diego Commercial Park, located in Otai Mesa, will be there for testing, assembly and transportation operations.
Lobanov said that the San Diego plant would employ about 50 workers once the production of motor seat belts began in June.
The plant is scheduled to expand in 1991, when NSK-
Autoliv plans to build a factory in Tijuana.
The increasing use of airbags by car manufacturers is the main reason why industry experts say such restrictions --
The system market will prosper in a few years.
The problem is (
Electric seat belt)
They are scheduled to work every time you open the door. . .
They tend to wear out, \"said Joseph Phillippi, an automotive analyst at Shearson Lehman Hutton in New York.
\"This can cause warranty issues etc.
Car manufacturers prefer airbags because it only needs to work once. \"By the mid-
1990, industry experts said that the United States will install 10 to 14 million air bags every year. S. passenger cars.
If light trucks also need to install these devices, more will be manufactured.
Experts say that if Europe and Japan adopt safety standards similar to those passed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a more profitable market is forming (NHTSA)in Washington.
Starting with 1990 models, new safety standards require all passenger cars sold in the United StatesS.
According to NHTSA spokesman Tim Hurd, there is a passive restraint system in the front seat.
The standard requires a motor belt for two seats or an air bag for the driver\'s side.
By 1992, both sides must implement a passive restriction system.
According to TRW spokesman Gianino, airbags account for only $0. 55 billion of the world\'s $3 billion car market.
Passengers limit the market.
But by 1994, airbags are expected to swell to $3 alone.
1 billion, more than half of the projected $6-$6
Billion system market.
Chrysler Motor Company has
Driver side airbag standard equipment has been manufactured in all of its 1990 USS. -
Construction of passenger vehicles.
For example, the Chrysler airbag is located in the wheel hub of the steering wheel and will only be deployed if the \"collision/collision\" sensor detects a significant collision--
A collision at a speed equal to or greater than 11 m. p. h.
This impact triggers the ignitor of the system, which contains sodium superimposed particles and then explodes and produces nitrogen to inflate within 1/20 seconds.
\"We chose to use the airbag because our engineering department confirmed it (manual)
\"Seat belts and airbags provide the best protection,\" said Tony Cervone, a spokesman for Chrysler headquarters.
Ford has followed suit and said it will produce airbags. -
Front seats for both drivers and passengers--
Medium term of standard equipment1990s.
However, improving security will consume more money from the consumer\'s pocket.
Industry officials say air freight costs
The bag system ranges from $700 to $1,100.
As a result, the average price of 1990 Chrysler passenger cars is up 5% from the price of last year\'s models, Cervone said.
Change the Chrysler Air
The price of the package system is $500 to $700.
Morton International and TRW are now available to the three major US automakers-
Chrysler, Ford and GM-with air-
Package constraint system.
No problem with NSK-
Autoliv\'s Lobanoff is mainly for Japanese automakers who have set up business in North America.
\"We have production orders with Asia.
North American-based automakers, but now I don\'t want to be more specific, \"Lobanoff said in a telephone interview with NSK.
Autoliv\'s corporate headquarters in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Suburban Detroit.
The joint venture was set up by foreign manufacturers to open up the North American market, Lobanov said.
\"Although both companies dominate their domestic markets, they have no business in North America,\" Lobanov said . \"
\"That\'s what they\'re looking for, and that\'s why they\'re finally forming NSK --Autoliv. \"By 1991, NSK-
Autoliv plans to transfer most of its seats
From ortemesa to belt production at the factory it will build in Tijuana.
The new plant, which will employ 450 workers, is expected to start producing airbags in 1993, Lobanov said.
The San Diego plant will be used mainly for transportation and testing, he said.
\"A lot of labor is coming into parliament,\" Lobanoff said . \".
\"San Diego is a perfect location for us as it allows us to get into Tijuana\'s cheaper labor pool and is closer to the Japan where our raw materials will come from.
Morton International is a chemical, salt and air producer.
Package constraint system, record $1.
Sales for the fiscal year ended June 1989 amounted to 6 billion per cent.
This company specializes in air production-
The system sales released in 1989 were $50 million, and its air-
Package sales this year.