Superior Industries Plans Wheel Plant in Hungary

Superior Industries International Inc., a Van Nuys-based maker of automobile wheels, said it plans to build a new manufacturing plant in Tatabanya, Hungary, to serve the European automotive market.

Superior said it has signed a contract to purchase 1 million square feet of land in Tatabanya, where the company and its joint venture partner, Otto Fuchs Metallwerke of Germany, will produce cast and forged wheels.

Louis L. Borick, president of Superior, said, “We selected this site because of the region’s available skilled labor, as well as the significant cooperation and inducements afforded us by the Hungarian local and national governments.”

Construction of the plant is scheduled to begin in the fall, and production of wheels is slated to begin in early 1997.

Superior also said it had recently won a five-year contract to produce 700,000 wheels per year for a large European automobile manufacturer.

The contract represents more than $30 million in annual revenues for the new Hungarian plant and will account for one-third of the plant’s capacity, Superior said.