The Italian company Sogefi, a subsidiary of the CIR group, will set up its first African site in Morocco in the Tangier free trade zone.

The company specializing in the manufacture of automotive components announced the construction of a new plant in the Kingdom for the supply of local and European market.

In a statement published by the CIR Group, Sogefi stated that it has already received orders for both markets, “which will bring in additional annual sales of EUR 30 million starting from 2020.”

The plant, scheduled to start in early 2018, will manufacture two different models of engine filtration systems (a metal diesel filter and an oil filtration module) and original spare parts for various types of vehicles.

The factory in Tangier will employ 120 people, but Sogefi said that new business opportunities may lead to an expansion of the plant and a rise in the number of employees to 300. This could provide annual sales of EUR 60 million in 2021, the supplier said.

“This investment further strengthens the competitiveness of Sogefi’s manufacturing base and provides support for profitable growth in Morocco and in Europe,” said Sogefi’s CEO, Laurent Hebenstreit.

For Sogefi, this decision has been encouraged by the evolution of Moroccan car production, which has experienced strong growth in recent years.

Several international car manufacturers and component suppliers have already invested or are planning to invest in Morocco, foreseeing a production volume of 1 million vehicles per year by 2025. Just last year, Renault, together with a partner group of suppliers, decided to invest MAD 10 billion in Morocco to build an “industry ecosystem” to help boost local production of components.

Source :Morocco World News