Magna gets Eurostar, DC business

Magna International Inc. confirms it has an agreement to purchase the Eurostar assembly plant in Graz, Austria, from DaimlerChrysler AG for an undisclosed price. The deal should close in summer. Chrysler Group President and CEO Dieter Zetsche says the sale will save DC significant money. Magna needed the capacity to build the BMW X3 cross/utility vehicle, at an annual volume of up to 100,000 units.

By Compiled by the staff of: WARD'S AUTOMOTIVE REPORTS • March 1, 2002

Magna Stumbles Over Blackwood

Lincoln's Blackwood program has given a black eye to Magna International Inc. A pesky fit problem with the luxury pickup's cargo box, designed and manufactured by Magna Steyr, has delayed production of the high-profile niche vehicle, WAW has learned. And the holdup so irked Lincoln parent Ford Motor Co. that the auto maker put a freeze on future business with the Canada-based supplier. Magna's a great

By ERIC MAYNE and TOM MURPHY with Brian Corbett • March 1, 2002

Explore the Trendline➔

Automotive Manufacturing

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

By WardsAuto staff

Valeo ready with starter/alternator

Valeo SA says that extensive R&D into combining functions of a standard engine-mounted alternator with that of a starter motor has produced the Starter Alternator Reversible System, which has achieved its technical objectives. The unit looks like a conventional engine-mounted alternator, but aside from generating electricity, it also can perform as a starter motor and crank the engine at much higher

By Compiled by the staff of: WARD'S ENGINE AND VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY UPDATE • March 1, 2002

Magna Considers Plant Purchase

It was only a few years ago that Magna International Inc. acquired the Steyr-Daimler-Puch vehicle assembly plant and subsequently sold its share of the neighboring Eurostar minivan assembly plant in Graz, Austria, to DaimlerChrysler AG. At the time, DC said it was strategically important that the auto maker take full control of Eurostar now. So it comes as a bit of a surprise that Magna plans to re-acquire

Jan. 1, 2002

Battle Heating Up Between Dana, AAM

Proof that the competition is heating up between Dana Corp. and American Axle & Mfg. Inc. became clear last month as each company tried to outdo the other in announcing the most new business in a single week. AAM will supply front and rear driveshafts for the all-new heavy-duty Dodge Ram fullsize pickup the first time AAM will produce driveshafts for Chrysler Group. AAM displaces Dana for the business.

Dec. 1, 2001

Magna Steyr Lands X3 Assembly

Ending months of speculation, BMW AG announces that the Steyr-Daimler-Puch Fahrzeugtechnik AG & Co. plant in Graz, Austria, will assemble the X3 sports activity vehicle, the smaller sibling of the successful 2-year-old X5. Magna International Inc., the Canadian supplier that acquired Steyr-Daimler-Puch in 1998, will build a new assembly line in an existing facility in Graz as part of the $450 million

Dec. 1, 2001

Asbestos Albatross

How many law firms does it take to fight asbestos cases in court? If you're a chief executive officer, you know this is no joke. If you're Federal-Mogul Corp., the answer is 50. Since 1997, the Southfield, MI, supplier has hired these U.S. firms to defend it against claims that asbestos used by Federal-Mogul or its subsidiaries has made them ill, or soon will. It may sound like judicial overkill.

By Tom Murphy • Nov. 1, 2001

Tenneco to supply e-damping

Tenneco Automotive says it will supply its first Computerized Electronic Suspension (CES) next year for an '03 European sport sedan, and the technology later will be on the road in North America. CES requires no hydraulic fluid, is lightweight, draws little power and provides variable damping on demand. The shock-strut combination can adjust itself up to 80 times per second based on road and driving

By Compiled by Senior Editor Tom Murphy [email protected] • Oct. 1, 2001

German suppliers shake up management

Product and engineering tend to take center stage at the Frankfurt International Motor Show, but management shakeups at two prominent German suppliers also were gaining attention this year. Tire producer Continental AG, which owns brake manufacturer Continental Teves, loses Stephan Kessel, 47, as chairman of the executive board. Although the company says he departs on very amicable terms, sources

By Compiled by Senior Editor Tom Murphy [email protected] • Oct. 1, 2001

Tier 1s want their suppliers connected

Tier 1 suppliers participating in a recent survey say they currently select only 15% of their suppliers based on their ability to handle e-business. But within three years, they will select 77% of their suppliers based on the criteria. The Center for Automotive Research, the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan and e-business application developer SupplySolution Inc. sponsored the study of

By Compiled by Senior Editor Tom Murphy [email protected] • Sept. 1, 2001

DETROIT DEALERS WANT SUPPLIERS AT NEXT INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW

Detroit's dealer-sponsored North American International Auto Show may have a raft of new exhibitors this coming January, but they won't be from automakers. Show organizers invited some 50 major auto suppliers to set up exhibits in the lower level of Cobo Center, says Rod Alberts, executive director of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association. A supplier presence on the show floor would make the Detroit

By Tom Murphy • Sept. 1, 2001

Magna ‘Vette goes back to the future

Sure, some folks who saw the Commemorative Edition Corvette at last month's Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit complained that it was trying too hard to capitalize on the retro styling trend. Others were curious about how a current-generation Corvette could get mashed together with a '53. Magna Steyr, preparing for its spinoff from Magna International Inc., calls its creation a high-tech version of

By Compiled by the staff of: WARD'S AUTOMOTIVE REPORTS • Sept. 1, 2001

The 12-Month Car--A Virtual Reality

Developing new product in 12 months is possible if carmakers take virtual prototyping to its potential. That means building the first digital vehicle within months of a new product program, integrating parts and systems from the suppliers onscreen, and doing final testing and signoff in this virtual world. It means a single physical prototype, at the end of the virtual verification, does the job of

By Alisa Priddle • Aug. 9, 2001

Automakers, Suppliers Urged to Collaborate Over Internet

A supplier that doesn’t find a way to join the information technology age will be left out of some customers’ value chains and end up losing revenue and market share, says Michael Segal, senior vice president-Customer Success for software systems provider MatrixOne Inc. “Do it now, before your competitors,” warns Mr. Segal. Mr. Segal and others at Tuesday’s session here on “Collaborative Product Commerce”

By David E. Zoia • Aug. 7, 2001

Suppliers Mull NAIAS Invitations

Detroit’s North American International Auto Show may have a raft of new exhibitors this coming January, but they won’t be vehicle producers. NAIAS has invited some 50 Tier 1 suppliers to occupy space in Michigan Hall, the lower level of Cobo Center, and they had an Aug. 6 deadline to submit exhibit proposals. Rod Alberts, director of NAIAS, says suppliers have expressed “a lot of interest” in exhibiting

By Tom Murphy • Aug. 7, 2001

UAW Makes Gains in Northwestern Michigan

The United Auto Workers union has struggled to find new membership since its heyday in the ’60s and ’70s, but it is making inroads in some unlikely areas: one of them appears to be Northwestern Michigan. In recent months it has won organizing votes or inked contracts with three of the largest auto suppliers in the Traverse City area: Tower Automotive Inc., Eagle Picher and a large Lear Corp. plant

By Drew Winter • Aug. 7, 2001

Suppliers Slow to Pull E-Business Trigger, Study Says

Suppliers who take their purchasing and product development online can cut costs and reduce their time to market by 30%, but few have managed that task so far. That’s the conclusion of the latest “Automotive Best Practices Forum” survey conducted by Arthur Andersen in partnership with the Original Equipment Suppliers Assn. (OESA). On average, e-procurement strategies have been only 22% implemented,

By David E. Zoia • Aug. 6, 2001

Protecting plant workers

It's no secret an auto plant can be a dangerous place to work, especially if safety rules are not followed or don't even exist. The Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) is working with volunteers from the Big Three and various auto suppliers to prevent some of the more common causes of injuries and deaths in auto plants. AIAG, a non-profit trade association in Southfield, MI, has started a health

By Christie Schweinsberg • Aug. 1, 2001

Life After Spin-off

The cards have been shuffled and dealt, and the bets made. It's only one hand in what promises to be a long game, but the cards as they lay right now hold both promise and chance for North America's two largest automotive suppliers, Delphi Automotive Systems and Visteon Corp. The cards are OK, but it's one of those hands with great potential for second-best. Here's what the cards show: Two enormous

By TOM MURPHY with Roger Schreffler in Japan • Aug. 1, 2001

Labor Unrest at Tower

Some 350 workers at Tower Automotive were preparing in June to go on strike at a plant in Traverse City in northern Michigan after efforts to negotiate a new contract with United Auto Workers union representatives broke down. After numerous attempts to organize the stamping supplier, workers finally voted for UAW representation last summer. But plant sources say the company and union have been unable

July 1, 2001

Heartland: C&A Needs Strength in Europe

With its 60% share of fabric producer Collins & Aikman Corp., Heartland Industrial Partners LP wants to bolster the supplier's European presence. Cynthia Hess, senior managing director at the Heartland private equity fund, tells a Canada-U.S. Business Association luncheon crowd that C&A dominates the North American market for convertible tops, molded carpet and headliner fabric. But in Europe, the

June 1, 2001

At the Crossroads

Mexican suppliers are at a crossroads either mod-ernize or disappear into the shadows of foreign giants. There are very few Mexican auto parts companies left, says Enrique Villasenor, president of Sanluis Rassini, a Mexico-based supplier of suspension and brake components. There are three options: Either expand, get acquired or partner with someone who has a global reach. Long reliant solely on the

By BRIAN CORBETT with Tom Murphy • May 1, 2001

OESA Panels Study E-Business

In three separate panel discussions on Monday conducted by the Original Equipment Suppliers Assn., the message to suppliers was clear. Don't wait to get involved in e-business, or you may lose out. Small steps can be taken now, panel members say, to get your house in order before entering an Internet exchange. OESA studied three different e-topics: Supply chain management, Collaborative Product Design

By Laurel Wright • March 6, 2001

SAE 2001: Magna Steyr Offers Overcapacity Solution

For more than a year, Magna International Inc. has talked about the possibility of building a new plant in North America to assemble niche vehicles for automaker customers, much like its Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik plant in Graz, Austria. This week, Magna is talking about a new strategy: using existing auto assembly plants rather than building a greenfield site. With the current overcapacity of automaker

By Tom Murphy • March 5, 2001

SAE 2001: Free Markets Making Mark with Auto Suppliers

DETROIT -- While Covisint fiddles, FreeMarkets Inc. says it is burning up the Internet with online auctions involving several automotive suppliers. Six-year-old Pittsburgh-based FreeMarkets says it has helped process $14 billion in transactions over the Internet since 1995 -- nearly $10 billion in the last year alone, resulting in savings to customers totaling more than $2.7 billion. Although it won't

By David E. Zoia • March 5, 2001