Poland

The Częstochowa facility is the first ZF "Greenfield" automotive electronics site in Eastern Europe.

It produces advanced electronic components for light vehicles, helping enhance driver and passenger safety, including S-Cam 4.8 cameras, the first-ever monocular cameras to offer the capability of a 100-degree horizontal field of view. This innovative technology further refines driving assistance systems such as automatic emergency braking (AEB) and lane keeping (LKA - Lane Keeping Assist).

Leading car manufacturers will also use the cameras produced in Częstochowa in advanced, semi-automated driving convenience functions like Highway Driving and Traffic Jam Assist. The innovative S-Cam4.8 recently launched from the Marshall, Illinois, plant in the United States and is also launching across a number of models from the ZF electronics facility in Anting, China, this year. ZF is the number one supplier of advanced forward-facing automotive grade cameras to more than a dozen major light vehicle manufacturers.

With a total area of 12,000 square meters, the Częstochowa plant is located on a 69,000 square meter plot of land in the local Katowice Special Economic Zone. It includes production halls, offices, meeting rooms, test areas and warehousing of materials and ZF is targeting further growth and hiring at the facility.

“The establishment of our ZF Electronics Engineering Center in Częstochowa laid the foundation for this state-of-the-art facility. Two years after the start of construction, we can boast a modern plant, where components for next generation mobility are produced, emphasizes Krzysztof Gablankowski, Director of the Electronics Plant of ZF in Częstochowa.

With its SEE-THINK-ACT approach ZF is shaping advanced safety and autonomous driving with environmental sensor technologies that can “see” the surroundings, powerful processing units employing Artificial Intelligence that can “think” for the system and intelligent mechanical systems that can “act” to provide enhanced levels of vehicle motion control.

ZF has operated in Częstochowa for over 30 years and is one of the largest employers in the region. There are now three manufacturing facilities (airbag production, seat belt production, and electronics production) as well as Engineering Centers focused on designing, developing and testing automotive safety systems. In addition, the ZF European Shared Services Center operates in Częstochowa in a new 3,700 square meter facility, providing financial and accounting processes for European ZF Group facilities, the IT Center, and the Global Purchasing Office.

ZF operates in Poland in 7 locations: Bielsko-Biała, Czechowice-Dziedzice, Częstochowa, Gliwice, Łódź, Warsaw and Wrocław. As of the end of 2019, ZF in Poland employed 8,000 people. Company activities in the country include production, R&D and engineering centers, service centers such as IT, finance, purchasing, HR and ZF Aftermarket.