Growth with automotive electronics

The plant in Hungary is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Since 1994, Szombathely has emerged as a highly competitive development and production center, especially for electronic components for automotive and industrial electronics applications. Now, the plant is set for further substantial expansion.

TDK currently manufactures aluminum electrolytic capacitors, inductors and EMC filters on the roughly 35 000 square meter site in Hungary. About 10 000 square meters of extra production space are now being added for components that are used in automotive electronics applications. In the future, additional types of power inductors, EMC filters and axial-lead aluminum electrolytic capacitors will also be produced here. These products are used, for example, in automatic headlamp control systems and parking assistance systems based on optical technology. They are also fitted in keyless ignition systems, lane departure warning systems, automatic start-stop systems and collision prevention systems. On top of the extra production space, a further 4000 square meters will be built in Szombathely for administration and training.

With the additional capacity of the new production lines, the share of Szombathely-made products for the automobile industry will grow from 30 percent today to more than half. TDK thus supports the trend of increasing electronics in vehicles. The demands being placed on cars can only be met with additional electronic systems and solutions. The production figures of the Szombathely plant for the transponder coils that are used in keyless entry and keyless go systems and for tire pressure sensor systems have tripled over the past three years.

Stronger focus on automotive electronics

Products made in Szombathely are exported throughout the world, but also serve the domestic market – thanks to the favorable geographic location: Szombathely is one of the major European hubs of the automotive industry. Alongside the automotive electronics market, the TDK plant will continue to supply components for other industries, in particular, for a wide range of industrial electronics applications as well as numerous applications in the renewable energy segment.

Prizes for innovative and environmentally friendly products

With some 1800 employees, Szombathely is TDK's largest facility in Europe. About 100 engineers currently work in this field, developing the components that are produced in Szombathely. They have a successful track record, too: For their even more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly products the team received two awards from the Hungarian Innovation Foundation, which has presented these awards since 1993. The first award was for the ongoing development of its aluminum electrolytic capacitors and power inductors. Through the company’s permanent commitment to innovation the capacitors now feature lower losses: Among others, improvements in the conductivity of the electrolyte fluid further increase the energy efficiency and environmental friendliness of the systems the components are designed into. Moreover, the new electrolyte is chemically more stable, especially at high temperatures, so that the capacitors also achieve longer useful lives.

The other prize recognizes the company’s research and development work, which leverages resources throughout the global TDK organization. The developers here collaborate on new innovation projects with researchers at other plants – especially with the Group's experts in Japan.

Product highlights

Aluminum electrolytic capacitors:

Aluminum electrolytic capacitors with snap-in, multi-pin and screw terminals are currently made in Szombathely. These capacitors are used in industrial electronics and renewable energy applications – mainly frequency converters to control engines, wind turbines, photovoltaic systems and uninterruptible power supplies.

Transponder coils:

These inductors are used as antennas, mostly for in-vehicle convenience and safety electronics systems – in keyless entry and wireless tire pressure monitoring systems, for example. In the latter case, they are fitted in the tire valves and function as an antenna to transmit signals to a receiver mounted in the dashboard.

Cylinder core chokes:

These filter components, which ensure electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), are used wherever electric motors and actuators are needed in automotive electronics.

Profile Szombathely plant

Products

• Aluminum electrolytic capacitors with the following terminals:

  • Screw terminals
  • Snap-in/solder pins
• SMD inductors
• SMD transponder coils
• Leaded RF/VHF chokes
• EMC chokes
• EMC filters

Certification

• ISO 9001
• ISO/TS 16949
• ISO 14001

History