TORSUS, a manufacturer of heavy-duty off-road vehicles, opened a second manufacturing facility in Ilava, Slovakia, on July 23, 2026. The new site adds 100 jobs, bringing the company’s Slovak production team to more than 150 people.
Combined with the existing pre-assembly operation in Horné Srnie, the new facility brings TORSUS’ total Slovak manufacturing footprint to 9,420 square meters. Annual production capacity now reaches as many as 200 TERRASTORM and 50 PRAETORIAN vehicles, with multiple models and customer projects able to move through production at the same time.
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in the Czech Republic, TORSUS has completed more than 350 projects and supplied over 5,000 vehicles across more than 20 countries on four continents. The company’s manufacturing processes follow Volkswagen AG standards, covering incoming-part inspection, assembly procedures, documentation, traceability and final vehicle certification.
Digital R&D center adds in-house 3D printing
The Ilava facility houses TORSUS’ Digital R&D Centre, where engineers develop vehicle systems, specialist conversions and customer-specific equipment. The team uses CAD software, including SolidWorks and Plasticity, to build three-dimensional models of components, assemblies and complete vehicle systems before production begins.
In-house 3D printing speeds up development of custom parts, enclosures, interfaces and mounting systems, letting engineers move from a digital concept to a physical prototype, test it on the vehicle, and make changes without relying on external tooling. A dedicated prototyping area, separate vehicle lift and specialist engineering workstations let development work run alongside regular vehicle production.
The site also includes in-house laser cutting and metal bending for structural parts, underbody protection, brackets and other custom components.
4×4 HD system for commercial vehicles
A central part of TORSUS’ engineering work is its 4×4 HD system, built for specialist commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of up to 5.5 tonnes. The system pairs low-range gearing with locking differentials, giving operators more traction, torque control and low-speed maneuverability across steep grades, mud, loose surfaces, cross-axle obstacles and broken terrain. This configuration isn’t offered as a standard Volkswagen or MAN solution for vehicles in this category.
The drivetrain is engineered alongside reinforced suspension, underbody protection, drivetrain breathers, electronics and customer equipment. Vehicle weight, axle loading, center of gravity and suspension behavior are assessed to keep the finished vehicle stable and controllable under full-load off-road conditions.
Vakhtang Dzhukashvili, founder and CEO of TORSUS, said: “Slovakia gives TORSUS access to exceptional automotive engineering expertise, a strong supplier network and an ideal location from which to serve customers around the world.”
Why scaling advanced manufacturing capacity is a constraint, not just a decision
Growing production capacity takes more than floor space. Equipment lead times, workforce skill, and component qualification standards all cap how fast output can scale without sacrificing quality. TORSUS’ Digital R&D Centre addresses that directly: housing CAD, prototyping and in-house 3D printing under one roof cuts the wait on external tooling, keeping engineering in step with production volume.
Automakers facing this constraint have converged on a similar answer. BMW opened a €15 million AM campus in Munich that brought prototype production, series parts manufacturing and 3D printing research under one roof, aiming to shorten development times and automate more of its design process.
At Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), an AM Technical Specialist described in-house 3D printing as central to producing functional prototypes fast enough to keep pace with a 400,000-vehicle-per-year production line, noting the company’s focus is on expanding capability rather than just capacity.
TORSUS is addressing the same underlying constraint at a smaller scale. Like BMW and JLR, it’s centralizing prototyping and production engineering to keep design iteration from lagging behind assembly line output, rather than treating 3D printing as a separate service to scale on its own.
3D Printing Industry is inviting speakers for its 2026 Additive Manufacturing Applications (AMA) series, covering Energy, Healthcare, Automotive and Mobility, Aerospace, Space and Defense, and Software. Each online event focuses on real production deployments, qualification, and supply chain integration. Practitioners interested in contributing can complete the call for speakers form here.
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Featured image shows TORSUS Opens Second Slovak Plant, Expands Footprint. Photo via Torsus.
