March 13th 2019. Tuam, Co. Galway. Valeo, today announced it is to invest €44M in a major RD&I investment programme, which will build on the Group’s strong capability in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and position them at the forefront of developments in autonomous vehicles. This investment will lead to the creation of 50 new R&D roles over the next three years, which will see its Irish R&D centre grow to over 500 people and become one of the largest R&D facilities in Ireland.
The project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.
Speaking about the investment Marc Vrecko, Valeo Comfort and Driving Assistance Systems Business Group President, said: “Our facility in Tuam is one of the leading Research centres in the Group. With the support of IDA Ireland, Valeo continues to have a sustained and rewarding investment in Ireland. We are very excited about the announcement today to further expand our footprint here to build on the proven innovation in Product and Process R&D. The investment will help fuel the global growth of the Vision Product Line and extend Valeo as global leader for ADAS systems and related MaaS products.”
Minister of State for Rural Affairs & Natural Resources, Sean Canney TD, welcomed the announcement, saying: “Valeo is a substantial and valued employer in Tuam and indeed Galway and the West region and this announcement that VVS is to make a major investment in an RD&I programme is great news, demonstrating significant commitment by the company to the Tuam site as it positions itself at the leading edge of the development of autonomous vehicles. It also shows that global companies of the calibre of Valeo can find, in regional locations, the skilled workers they require, the necessary infrastructure and services and pro-business environment, to establish and grow their operations. I wish Vice President Fergus Moyles and his team continued success here.”
IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan said: “This is an exciting project, focused on new emerging and disruptive advances in Autonomous Vehicles. As a technology leader in autonomous technologies, with a global remit, Valeo is helping in the development of a cluster in Ireland around AV. This project will add significant value to the company’s operations in Tuam and will benefit Tuam, Galway and the West region substantially.”
More information about Valeo
Valeo is an automotive supplier at the heart of the 3 revolutions shaping the automotive industry: autonomous car, electrification of the powertrain and digital mobility. As a technology company, Valeo proposes innovative products and systems that contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions and to the development of autonomous and connected car. . In 2018, the Group generated sales of 19.3 billion euros and invested 13% of its original equipment sales in Research and Development.
At December 31, 2018, Valeo had 186 plants, 21 research centers, 38 development centers and 15 distribution platforms, and employed 113,600 people in 33 countries worldwide. Valeo is listed on the Paris stock exchange and is a member of the CAC 40 index.
More information about Valeo R&D centre in Tuam
Valeo is the global market leader and supplier of choice for sensors, including vision cameras and ADAS systems. Their Automotive cameras act as the eyes of the vehicle, which together with their advanced software algorithms and artificial intelligence enable the vehicle to make the right decision while driving.
The R&D centre in Tuam is the Group’s worldwide reference centre for vision systems. The site includes a state of the art production facility alongside an R&D Centre of Excellence with responsibility for the development and manufacture of automotive camera vision systems for global markets.
Products developed by the R&D centre in Tuam are also in production across the world at Valeo sites in Germany, Hungary, Mexico and China in line with Group’s strategy to serve automotive customers locally.
Valeo is a major employer in the West region, with a total workforce of over 1,000 people. The 450 strong R&D centre consists of many highly skilled engineers and scientists across a range of disciplines, working on the latest technologies in Artificial intelligence and Deep Learning, for application at the cutting edge of advancements in autonomous vehicles.