Duol Announces Entry into North American Seat Covering Market... Establishes Mexican Corporation

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Dual, a global automotive interior materials company (CEO Joinhoe Cho, Jaeyeol Jung), announced on the 24th that it has established a Mexican subsidiary to expand its presence in the North American market.

Dual has completed the establishment of a local subsidiary to supply seat covers to the North American automotive market, including the Mexican market. The company added that it is in the process of acquiring facilities and inventory assets from other suppliers located in Mexico who currently supply Hyundai Motor Group. They are preparing to operate the factory by dispatching personnel from the domestic headquarters and the European Borgstena team, aiming for official operation in January next year.

The Mexican subsidiary is located in the Santa Maria Industrial Complex, home to global automakers and partners such as GM and FCA. Currently, more than 600 employees work there, generating annual sales of approximately 20 billion KRW within Mexico. The main products are seat covers for Hyundai Motor Group’s Accent, Forte, and Pride models.

The company stated, “Since there is a large number of local employees, key financial and production personnel from Borgstena, our European affiliate, will reside on-site for one year to ensure smooth operations without language barriers.” They added, “We plan to maintain strong relationships with existing customers through stable quality while securing new automaker clients in the North American market via Borgstena.”

Previously, Dual entered the North American market by establishing Dual Borgstena North America in the U.S. in 2019. It currently operates as a base for stable fabric supply to Hyundai Motor Group. However, while seat covering, which contributes relatively more to sales, is produced in factories in China, Europe, and South America?achieving over 110 billion KRW in sales last year?seat covering sales in the North American market, Hyundai Motor Group’s largest market, had not yet been secured.

With the establishment of the Mexican subsidiary, Dual has secured a production base to supply seat covering in the North American region, increasing the possibility of winning seat cover orders not only in Mexico but across North America. In fact, the location is geographically advantageous as it is accessible by land to Hyundai Motor Group’s North American subsidiary, covering both the Mexican and North American markets. Additionally, the company official noted that through the FTA agreement between the U.S. and Mexico, they can benefit from tariff advantages and secure product competitiveness thanks to Mexico’s low labor costs.

Joinhoe Cho, CEO of Dual, said, “The large-scale investment plans by global automakers currently planned in the North American market are an inevitable choice to gain a preemptive advantage in the market amid the paradigm shift toward eco-friendly vehicles such as electric cars.” He added, “After establishing the Mexican subsidiary, Dual will actively pursue orders for electric vehicle seat lines produced domestically in the North American market, focusing on external growth through market share expansion.”

Dual currently operates 21 local subsidiaries in China, Europe, South America, and other regions. In 2017, it acquired the Swedish Borgstena Group, a specialized automotive fabric company, supplying fabrics locally to global automakers such as Volkswagen and Volvo Group. Recently, it has been exclusively supplying seat covering for the Ioniq 5 and GV60 electric vehicles in Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.