Hella opens new electronics plant in Lithuania

Hella, the lighting and electronics specialist, has opened a new plant in Lithuania. Based in the Lithuanian Kaunas region, the new facility will serve the rising demand for electronics components in the European market. The production focus will initially be on lighting electronics components, but will soon be expanded to include various sensors, actuators and control units. Currently, some 70 employees are working for Hella in Lithuania, but this number is expected to increase to 250. The overall investment volume at the finalisation of this expansion phase will be in the mid double-digit million Euro figures.

“Hella has been growing stronger than the market for years,” said Hella CEO Dr. Rolf Breidenbach during the plant opening ceremony. “A crucial reason for this is our positioning alongside the major market trends: autonomous driving, energy efficiency and electrification, digitalisation, as well as individualisation. With this new plant in Lithuania, we are creating an important catalyst for meeting the rising demand for our innovative product solutions, while continuing our profitable growth path.”

The plant in Lithuania is the fourteenth electronics plant in the global Hella network and due to the well-developed infrastructure and great availability of qualified workers, Kaunas was chosen as its location. After a construction period lasting a little less than a year, Hella was recently able to start series production across some 7,000 square metres of production space. In his address, Dr. Breidenbach thanked all those involved: “The reason we could realise the location in such a short time not only speaks in favour of the great commitment of the Hella team here in Lithuania, but also of our colleagues worldwide. It also demonstrates the outstanding cooperation with our local Lithuanian partners.”

Many high-profile industry and political guests attended the new location’s opening ceremony, amongst them the president of the Lithuanian Republic, Dalia Grybauskaitė, as well as the German ambassador to Lithuania, Angelika Viets, the Lithuanian vice minister of economy, Dr. Marius Skuodis and the general manager of Invest Lithuania, Mantas Katinas.