VDL Group will start work in the United States as soon as January 2017. This month marks the start of work based on contracts with BMW, Volvo Cars and new clients which are yet to be named. VDL Steelweld, the production automation-company of VDL will supply an automation process which will house over 800 robots. The deals surrounding this new step for the Brabants family-built company will earn them over 100 million euro.
VDL will supply the automated production-lines for new BMW and Volvo-factories, built in South Carolina. To be able to compete for the deals, VDL has opened three new production sites in the US in 2016, in Fremont (California), Detroit (Michigan) and Spartanburg (South Carolina). VDL expects their VDL Steelworld branche will grow rapidly in the US.
In Europe, VDL has been working with manufacturers like Ford, Volvo, BMW and Jaguar Landrover. According to VDL Steelweld director Peter de Vos, that experience has led to a building of mutual trust between the car-companies and their supplier. From that standpoint, VDL has dared to take this step which hes led to the company ‘breaking through’ into a new market.
