Production Programs Granted to Cts Automotive Products

CTS Corporation, a leading developer and producer of electronic components and sensors announced that their Automotive Products department has received a host of production programs. The said production program is for CTS’s Seat Belt Tension Sensor which is a radical technology used in the safety belt assemblies that are employed by cars and light trucks in the North American market. The importance of the said sensor is vital for the protection of the occupants of a particular vehicle in the event of a crash. Production of the said device will start in the spring of this year. The produced device will be for use on cars to be released for the 2008 year model.

The company which will produce the sensor provides EMS or electronics manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers in the automotive industry. These OEMs are also the same producers of high quality components like the Volvo strut assembly. The parts needed for the production of seat belt assemblies will amount to more than $13 million in sales. This amount will be the total output of CTS Automotive Products during the lifespan of the production programs. The company will produce all of the Seat Belt Tension Sensor in their assembly plant located in Elkhart, Indiana. Aside from this facility, the company also has production centers in Toronto, Canada; Glasgow, Scotland; Ostrava, Czech Republic; Matamoros, Mexico; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Dongguan, China.

The radical Seat Belt Tension Sensor is currently being employed on 39 different platforms. This number is expected to rise in the light of the production programs awarded to the company. The sensor is vital to the safety of the passenger in cases of accidents since it conveys signal to a vehicle’s Occupant Classification System. This onboard system classifies the front passenger side occupants, and from this data, the onboard computer can determine how to deploy the airbag. Correct determination of the seat’s occupants is important since different persons also have varying needs in the deployment of airbags. For example, a grownup can withstand airbag pressure greater than what a young person can handle.

This sensor also prevents the deployment of side and front airbags for the passenger seat when the said seat is empty. The sensor will also prevent airbag deployment when it detects a weight which is below a preset limit. These are not the only advantages of this sensor, in the production process; the sensor can be easily integrated to the seat belt assembly. Not only that, the sensor is made to be of high quality and is reliable. This reliability is important since any person knows that every safety features must work every time it is needed.

CTS is clearly happy with the way things are turning out for them. Tyler Buchanan, Senior Vice President for CTS Corporation said that “CTS is delighted to be awarded these programs”. He also added that “with these awards, CTS continues to demonstrate the value of this product to the marketplace for occupant safety”. The current trend which shows concern for vehicle safety when buying a car gives the company a chance to showcase what they can do in terms of developing and producing safety oriented features. The company’s customer responsiveness and expertise in large volume automotive packaging will come in play in the production of the Seat Belt Tension Sensors.

The continued interest of the motoring public for safe cars will surely make these production programs just the start of a new wave of production grants. Programs such as these are vital to meet the increasing demands for safety features.