( dpa ) - A factory making turbochargers for diesel and petrol engines is to be built in Germany as a joint venture between German and Japanese companies, officials said Tuesday.
The operation will be set up at Arnstadt in eastern Germany. Juergen Reinholz, economics minister of Thuringia state, said in Erfurt the initial 45-million-euro (62-million-dollar) factory would employ 400 people.
The owner will be IHI Charging Systems International (ICSI), a joint venture of IHI group of Tokyo and German automaker Daimler of Stuttgart which already operates a site near Milan, Italy.
Reinholz said the new plant would gain Thuringia state subsidies but did not disclose how much.
The turbochargers will be shipped to car factories in Europe starting from late this year.
The partners said the site, close to a main highway junction, could be doubled in size if need be.
Turbochargers are used to make engines more efficient, reducing fuel use and thus cutting emissions for every kilometre travelled. ICSI has offices in Heidelberg, Germany.
The IHI group, which supplies the automotive and aerospace industries, has a worldwide payroll of 23,000.