Chennai, Feb 12 (IANS): Automotive component maker Rane TRW Steering Systems Pvt Ltd said its new facility for occupant safety products opened on Tuesday in Tamil Nadu's Tiruchirapalli, about 350 km from the state capital.

According to Rane TRW Steering -- a joint venture between India's Rane Group and German ZF Group -- the new facility involved an outlay of Rs 40 crore with an initial capacity of 500,000 modules of airbags and one million seatbelt assemblies per annum.

The output from the new plant will be for domestic and export markets.

The company said production capacity would be ramped up to one million modules per annum of airbags and two million units of seatbelt assemblies in next two years, with an additional investment of around Rs 25 to 30 crore.

Commenting on the new facility, Harish Lakshman, Vice Chairman, Rane Group and Managing Director, Rane TRW Steering Systems Pvt Ltd said: "This new state-of-the-art facility will help us address the increasing demand for occupant safety products and enable us to further localize the airbag cushion manufacturing process."