Tooling Industry Has Future in North America, Panel Says

While the lowest-price strategy is widespread, it has its downfalls. The least expensive supplier is not necessarily the best choice, notes one analyst.

By Byron Pope • Aug. 7, 2006

Who’s No.1?

Tenneco Inc. says for the first time it expects to occupy the No.1 slot for OEM exhaust systems in North America in 2007, bolstered by a raft of new vehicle programs soon to launch. Currently, Tenneco claims to be the No.1 OEM and aftermarket exhaust supplier in Europe, China and Australia, as well as No.1 for aftermarket exhaust in North America. But the dominant player in North American OEM exhaust

By Tom Murphy • Aug. 1, 2006

Explore the Trendline➔

Automotive Manufacturing

Production strategies are changing rapidly as tariffs and shifts in consumer buying patterns affect the industry.

By WardsAuto staff

Health-Care Reality Sinks In

More than 70% of industry respondents to Ward's Supplier Survey say their health-care coverage is less comprehensive than it was five years ago.

By Tom Murphy • July 26, 2006

Cost Remains Paramount in Relationship

Additional comments from participants in Ward's 28th Annual Supplier Survey.

By Ward's Staff • July 26, 2006

ASC Stumbles Selling 4-Door Convertible

Supplier's prototype gets high marks in innovation, but the potentially high cost is scaring people away.

By Steve Finlay • June 26, 2006

Suppliers Suggest Fixes for Poor Electronics Reliability

Presenters at the Ward's Auto Interiors Show say high levels of electronic features require high levels of planned integration.

By Bill Visnic • June 7, 2006

Most China-Bound Suppliers Not Saving Money

A new study by PRTM Management Consultants finds the majority of North American automotive suppliers sourcing from China are not realizing great savings. Over half the participants in our study achieved less than 40% of their savings goals at their Chinese operations, Stephen Pillsbury, principal-PRTM, says at a recent Original Equipment Suppliers Assn. conference. While company practices, not components,

By Christie Schweinsberg • June 1, 2006

Hella says lidar cuts ACC price in half

Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. will join the fray in the emerging adaptive cruise control (ACC) market when it begins supplying modules for an '07 U.S. vehicle program later this year. Hella will produce the electronic modules in Hamm, Germany, and ship them to Hella's plant in Flora, IL, where they will be finished for delivery to the customer, says Ralf Voss, senior executive vice president-electrical/electronics

By Tom Murphy • May 1, 2006

Behr Expanding In Detroit

Thermal management supplier Behr America, a subsidiary of Behr GmbH & Co. KG, announces plans to expand its North American headquarters in Troy, MI. Expected to open in early 2007, the $8.5 million, 3-story expansion will be built on a site adjoining Behr America's current campus, which includes a technical center and a $15 million climactic wind tunnel.

May 1, 2006

Continental Buys Motorola Auto Electronics

German supplier Continental AG is acquiring the automotive electronics business of Motorola Inc. for $1 billion. The sale includes Motorola's controls, sensor, interior electronics and telematics units. The operations will be plugged into Continental's Automotive Systems Div., which specializes in active and passive safety devices such as electronic stability control. Continental Chairman Manfred

By Drew Winter • May 1, 2006

Expanding Aisin Nurturing North American Suppliers

Aisin AW is building relationships with North American suppliers.

By Bill Visnic • April 4, 2006

Fixing Fixtures

No one involved in a vehicle program benefits when it flops in the marketplace. Nobody, that is, except perhaps tooling suppliers that win new business when an auto maker decides an emergency redesign is necessary. One tooling supplier, Tesco Measurement Solutions, is in the unique position of helping auto makers reduce tooling costs with a new technology that eliminates the hard fixtures that have

By Tom Murphy • April 1, 2006

Japanese Suppliers Eye Multiple Segments

Nippon Seiki, Denso, Tokai Rika, Calsonic Kansei and Omron are among Japanese suppliers expanding sales.

By Roger Schreffler • March 20, 2006

Denso Touts ‘Green Ways’

Japan’s No.1 supplier plans to use fewer hazardous substances, send less waste to landfills, recycle more and do its part to prevent global warming.

By Tom Murphy • March 17, 2006

Dana Files for Chapter 11

Dana Corp. is the latest automotive supplier to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with a filing this week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The filing applies to 40 of Dana’s U.S. subsidiaries and does not include operations in other parts of the world, the company says. Dana cites declining revenues resulting from reduced production at major customers Ford Motor

By Ward's Staff • March 3, 2006

Supplier Directory

Editor's note: This story is part of the WardsAuto digital archive, which may include content that was first published in print, or in different web layouts. GET YOUR COMPANY LISTED! The Best of Both Worlds! Get in our online and printed directories and make it easy for your customers to find yo...

Feb. 6, 2006

Faurecia Bucks Trend

Tantamount to the man bites dog category of news making, French supplier Faurecia SA will create 2,000 new jobs this year in the U.S. when it opens six new manufacturing plants, most of them supported with United Auto Workers union labor. While many major parts makers struggle with bankruptcy, plant closings, layoffs and Wall Street instability, Faurecia is bucking the trend in grand fashion. Five

By Tom Murphy • Feb. 1, 2006

XK Not Beholden to Jaguar Lineage

STELLENBOSCH, South Africa – Fine art grows on the admirer. It is subtle at first blush, but appreciation builds as more time is spent with it. The analogy proves apt for the ’07 Jaguar XK 2+2 sports car that goes on sale in March in the U.K., and mid-April in the U.S. The all-new sports coupe and convertible has been in the works for what seems like an interminable amount of time – in fact the prototype

By Alisa Priddle • Feb. 1, 2006

Graz’s Global Vision

In the winter of 2001, Magna Steyr AG & Co. KG executives from Austria visited Detroit to lay out a grand vision to assemble complete vehicles in North America, possibly at a new plant it would build. As an option, Magna said it could take over an existing vehicle assembly plant as the North American industry wrestled with overcapacity. Five years later, Magna Steyr still has no plant in North America,

By Tom Murphy • Jan. 1, 2006

Aisin Opens U.S. Proving Grounds

Aisin Holdings of America Inc., the North American holding company for Japanese Tier 1 supplier Aisin Group, opens its first North American automotive components test track and proving grounds in Fowlerville, MI. Officially named FT Techno of America LLC, Aisin's 878-acre (355-ha) facility represents a $40 million investment that will be used for research and development-based testing.

Dec. 1, 2005

INDIA: Global Ambition

India's auto makers and suppliers have global ambitions that already are coming to fruition. Both are working toward the country becoming the region's small-car export hub, while making a concerted push into Europe and other foreign markets. India's leading auto component makers in the last two years have made 30 acquisitions in the European Union and U.S., totaling more than $300 million in investment.

By Christie Schweinsberg • Nov. 1, 2005

HEV Supply Chain Vast

Ford Motor Co. announced plans in September to boost hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV) production to 250,000 units annually by 2010, and it acknowledged that cultivating a U.S. supply infrastructure would be one of the hurdles. That is because today, more than 90% of hybrid vehicles are built in Japan and, as a result, the preponderance of component makers are Japanese. Moreover, both HEV volume leaders

By Roger Schreffler • Nov. 1, 2005

India Aims to Become Small-Car Export Hub

India's auto makers and suppliers have global ambitions that already are coming to fruition. Both are working toward the country becoming the region's small-car export hub, while making a concerted push into Europe and other foreign markets. India's leading auto component makers in the last two years have made 30 acquisitions in the European Union and U.S., totaling more than $300 million in investment.

By Christie Schweinsberg • Nov. 1, 2005

Brose Shops Sliding-Door Module

FRANKFURT – In this modular era in which suppliers ship fully assembled axles, corner modules and instrument panels direct to the vehicle plant, it is surprising the industry has not figured out a way to supply a fully assembled sliding door for a minivan. For instance, inner panels for traditionally hinged doors for sedans or pickup trucks frequently are supplied as modules, complete with the window

By Tom Murphy • Oct. 7, 2005

Brake-By-Wedge

The brake sector has never been a place for the faint of heart. The world's largest, most powerful automotive suppliers are entrenched in the segment, battling mercilessly for new business, new technology and, ultimately, survival. Yet, it appears the ranks of Robert Bosch GmbH, Delphi Corp., TRW Automotive, Continental Automotive Systems and Japan's Advics Co. Ltd. will face a new competitor with

By Tom Murphy • Oct. 1, 2005