Adient Automotive Seating Sdn Bhd wins Automotive Services Awards at Malaysia International Business Awards

The company’s launch of their new Alor Gajah foam plant with state-of-the-art foam manufacturing technology is a first in Malaysia’s automotive industry.

SBR's Malaysia International Business Awards aims to recognise international firms that have made remarkable contributions to the country's economy. This year, it has awarded Adient automotive seating for investing in their new Alor Gajah foam plant that uses innovative and sustainable foam technology.

As a global leader in automotive seating, Adient is committed to providing seating system that meets the highest quality standards and safety performances that automakers and their end consumers demand today. To this end, the new foam line is capable of multi-firmness parts production using the same robot and mix-head to support customers’ high comfort requirements. In addition, through seamless digitalization, automation and integration of the manufacturing systems and processes, the plant can achieve high efficiency, risk prevention and energy rating.

Adient’s environmental responsibility also shaped their new foam plant operation strategy with the implementation of rainwater harvesting system to reduce the dependency on the town water, installation of solar panels to produce electricity that powers various pieces of equipment, use of 5-star power rated and low carbon emission equipment, 100% use of LED lighting across the plant, and managing risks through environmental management systems and appropriate certification such as ISO14001.

“We firmly believe in investing to improve and expand the capabilities and capacities of our manufacturing operations in Malaysia and establish this footprint as an automotive seating foam hub for the southeast Asia region. Leveraging Adient’s global best practices contributes to creating long-term value for our stakeholders. This not only generates export revenues but also drives parts localization and creates job opportunities in Malaysia. We shared this strategic project with senior representatives of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), who welcome this Adient initiative,” says AJ Dabydin, Country Manager of Adient Malaysia.

The significant challenge of COVID-19 derailed the plant’s original start-up date of October 2020. With the strong support of MIDA, Adient was able to bring their equipment and technology experts from Germany and China for the equipment installation, commissioning, and trial runs during the Recovery Movement Control Order. The company is scheduled to start production in May 2021.