Ronal building 2nd plant in Spain

TERUEL, Spain (May 12, 2016) — Switzerland's Ronal Group has broken ground on its second alloy wheel plant in Spain, a project the company said will help develop its “market leadership” in Europe.

The 2.58 million-sq.-ft. factory is being built near the firm's existing plant in Teruel, a community of 36,000 inhabitants east of Madrid and northwest of Valencia. It will boost the company's wheel capacity in Spain 36 percent to 3 million units a year when it comes on stream in the third quarter of 2017, Ronal said.

“We believe customer proximity is essential to our development,” Ronal Group CEO Yvo Schnarrenberger said. “Spain's importance as a key site of global automotive manufacturing is growing. This will allow us to further develop our market leadership in Europe.”

Härkingen, Switzerland-based Ronal did not disclose its investment in the new plant, which will complement the existing 34-year-old factory, Ronal Iberica, in Teruel. Boasting state-of-the-art technology and machinery, the new factory is designed so annual capacity can be expanded beyond the initial 800,000 units, Ronal said.

Including the new factory in Spain, Ronal will have a dozen wheel plants globally, in Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Poland and Taiwan. Combined the firm's plants can produce nearly 21 million wheels a year, according to Ronal.

Founded in 1969 by Karl Wirth, Ronal goes to market with two brands — Ronal and Speedline, the latter of which came via acquisition in 2007. The Speedline brand also is produced in medium truck sizes and specifications.

The company does not disclose annual sales or other financial data; it employs more than 6,000 worldwide.

Ronal delivers OE wheels to more than a dozen of the world's leading automotive groups, including Ford Motor Co., Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles and General Motors Co. in North America.