Rockwell Will Make Car Parts in Czech Plant : Venture: Company says project has approval of the Czech Republic’s Ministry of Privatization.

Rockwell International Corp. said Wednesday that one of its divisions has launched a joint venture to produce automotive parts in Czechoslovakia.

The company said the East European country’s Ministry of Privatization of the Czech Republic has approved a project that would allow Rockwell to manufacture and sell components for Volkswagen automobiles in Czechoslovakia.

The joint-venture company will move into an existing plant in Liberec, Czechoslovakia, about 75 miles northeast of Prague, the capital. Rockwell said it plans to make “substantial new investments,” including worker retraining programs.

The joint venture, Rockwell’s first in that country, must be approved by the Czech Republic’s Economic Council.

Kent M. Black, Rockwell’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in a statement that the venture will be under Rockwell’s control and majority ownership. Company officials were not available for comment.

Rockwell will make window regulators, seat slides and other parts for VW/Skoda and other automobile manufacturers in Czechoslovakia as well as customers around the world.

In Europe, Rockwell Automotive Body Systems employs 4,300 at 13 plants in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. European sales amounted to $580 million in fiscal 1991.

Rockwell International, based in Seal Beach, is a diversified technology company that had $12 billion in sales last year.