Autoliv Inc. (NYSE: ALV and SSE: ALIVsdb), the worldwide leader in automotive safety systems, announces that its Brigham City facility today produced its one billionth airbag inflator and celebrated with the 1,200 employees that build the life-saving components.

“Customers and families all around the world depend on the inflators made in Utah to prevent fatal injuries and save lives,” said Dan Garceau, president, Autoliv Americas. “We only get one chance to protect occupants. Our airbag inflator products must operate perfectly in milliseconds and are designed to work flawlessly every time and in a variety of conditions.”

The Brigham City plant is the largest inflator plant in the world. Production at the plant began in 1989 and today it builds an average of 1.3 million inflators per week. The facility has won the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence in 2003 and 2009, and proudly partners with Enable Utah to employ individuals with disabilities as part of its 1,200 employees.

“Reaching the one billionth inflator milestone shows Autoliv’s commitment to a process that works and we are supporting a team that is passionate about delivering the best products to our customers,” said Dave Anderson, plant manager, Autoliv Brigham City. “Everyone at Autoliv takes their jobs very seriously because we care about the safety of the driving public, and that means doing things the right way. Quality starts with us, and it starts with me.”

Inflators are pyrotechnic devices that rapidly inflate airbags when a crash is detected. They must perform without fail in less time than the blink of an eye. The Brigham City plant produces inflators for all seating positions in the vehicle. These include the driver and passenger seating positions for frontal and side impact collisions as well as all seating positions for side collisions and roll-over accidents. The facility produces ‘pyrotechnic inflators’ that rely on the rapid combustion of a propellant as well as ‘stored gas’ inflators that rely on pressurized gas augmented with small amount of propellant.

Autoliv is the largest manufacturing employer in the state of Utah with approximately 3,600 total employees. The company operates in four cities in Utah: Brigham City (airbag inflators); Ogden (airbags, a service parts organization, injection molding, logistics warehouse and a technology center); Promontory (pyrotechnic materials); and Tremonton (airbag initiators and micro gas generators). Autoliv safety products can be found on more than 100 car brands across the globe.