Regional Competence Center for Supplier Development in the Automotive Sector

At the initiative of Automotivest Association was developed the concept of the project _ Regional Competence Center for Supplier Development in the Automotive Sector.

The center will be located in the West Region, Timişoara, Freidorf Industrial Park. The City Hall (the applicant for the project) will work closely with the Automotivest Association in order to ensure a quality management of the center. Automotivest Cluster (association) is a non-governmental body, nonprofit, apolitical, with legal personality established in June 2007 with the mission of helping the members of the cluster-type network in the West Region to increase their market competitiveness.

The project’s duration is 18 months now being in the contracting phase. The project is estimated to start in July-August 2012.

The main objective of the project is to create a Regional Competence and Development of Automotive Sector Supplier Center, a business infrastructure that will support the implementation of a package of services and training programs for enterprises in the sector. The purpose is to increase the number of skills in the mechanical, engineering, automotive sectors in the region. This will lead to a sustainable support of the development of the urban growth pole Timisoara by increasing the investment attractiveness of the area.

The center will bring positive effects, not only in Timisoara, but also across the region by:

· Increasing the number and skills of local suppliers in the automotive industry;

· Valorization and adaptation of the training potential of universities in mechanical engineering / automotive to business needs;

· Implementation of value-added services for enterprises in the sector;

· Facilitating access to resources: technology, information, customers, distribution channels, training;

· Increased rate of knowledge transfer;

· Reduce indirect costs of firms to increase market competitiveness through support provided by the center through the services offered;

· Increased innovation in the field.

The business infrastructure within the project will increase the number of competencies of the local suppliers and will create value-added services to support regional automotive sector for medium and long term.

Services of the centre

• Training

• Manufacturing operations

• Measurement certification and testing

• Event hosting and exhibition