George Condrea, Site Manager BorgWarner Iasi: “We are investing in a new training center for the employees”

“The Iasi site is currently investing in a new training center for its employees that will also support the dual education program started this year. We will complete the integration with BorgWarner business principles and values and optimize the state-of-the-art manufacturing processes existing at our site,” George Condrea, Site Manager BorgWarner Iasi, told Automotive Today. “Our customers are enthusiastic about the new product launches for injectors and pumps that we’ll start to produce in the first quarter of next year.”

How did you manage the year 2020 so far, in the context of a decrease in demand and manufacturing on the Romanian automotive market?

We have faced a lot of challenges this year, especially in terms of protecting the health of our employees and their families as well as focusing on business conditions. We were able to react and adapt very fast to changing market conditions and to the needs of our customers. The first action we took was to guarantee the safety of our team members and to secure the business. We spoke with our clients around the world and offered them the flexibility needed in terms of volumes and delivery terms.

After the pandemic started in Europe and OEMs started to reduce their volumes, we have encountered unexpectedly a higher demand from our Asian customers, as the situation was more stable there and their economy started to recover. We managed in this way to balance better our lines and protect better our business.

How would you describe the company’s evolution in these quarters dominated by uncertainty caused by the pandemic?

The year started very well for the former Delphi Technologies Iasi site and continued with the official announcement regarding our takeover by BorgWarner. We have just completed this transaction in the beginning of October and are now focused on completing our integration into the new company. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we stayed below our initial expectations for the year.

Thanks to the acquisition, BorgWarner is now even better positioned across combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles. We expect this acquisition to accelerate our ability to grow regardless of how the markets evolves. Post-acquisition, BorgWarner has approximately 48,000 employees in 99 locations in 24 countries.

What are the company expectations regarding the evolution of the automotiveindustry in 2021?

The situation is and will remain dynamic, which is why we currently cannot make any predictions about the further development of the pandemic.

What are the challenges you are facing currently? Have you been forced to implement cost reduction measures during this time?

As already mentioned, one of the top priorities during the past few months has been to ensure the safety of our team members. At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic we acted quickly and numerous safety precautions were taken. Even before the lockdown of our production plants, we started to establish safe restart guidelines for our facilities worldwide. Close and consistent communication between management and our sites worldwide was and is necessary to enable us to adapt and react quickly.

What priorities have you established for the business relaunch/development in 2021?

The Iasi site is currently investing in a new training center for its employees that will also support the dual education program started this year. We will complete the integration with BorgWarner business principles and values and optimize the state-of-the-art manufacturing processes existing at our site. Our customers are enthusiastic about the new product launches for injectors and pumps that we’ll start to produce in the first quarter of next year.