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UAW eyes Magna’s Intier unit

Hot on the heels of successfully organizing workers at various Johnson Controls Inc. facilities in the U.S., the United Auto Workers sets its sights on Magna International Inc.'s Intier Automotive Inc., based in Ontario. Relations between Magna and the UAW, although once tenuous, have warmed recently as the UAW was able to organize 430 workers at Magna's interior trim plant in Brighton, MI, two years

Sept. 1, 2002

Magna Donnelly Eyes Mirror Dominance

A year ago, Magna International Inc. spun off its interiors business into a separate company known as Intier Automotive. In late June, Magna made another bold move, acquiring one of its loyal suppliers, Donnelly Corp., which sells door handles, windows, mirrors and mirror components to Magna. Clearly, Canada's No.1 automotive supplier no longer is satisfied to be the No.3 player in interiors, behind

By Tom Murphy • Aug. 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

SUVs Spur Market For ArvinMeritor Springs

The popularity of SUVs has opened the door literally to new opportunities for ArvinMeritor Inc. The small town of Marion near Myrtle Beach, SC, is home to ArvinMeritor's sole North American plant for producing gas springs, which provide the familiar sound each time a lift gate opens on an SUV or minivan. The supplier's research indicates that 85% of new light vehicles have at least two gas springs,

By Tom Murphy • July 1, 2002

Behr To Build Wind Tunnel in Troy

From the sweltering Sahara to the South Pole, there's nary a temperature or weather condition heating and cooling systems supplier Behr GmbH & Co. cannot simulate with its state-of-the-art wind tunnel at its Stuttgart, Germany, headquarters. Now, on the heels of opening its new, $34 million North American headquarters and technical center in Troy, MI, just north of Detroit, Behr, Europe's biggest

By Christie Schweinsberg • July 1, 2002

Hydraulic fan, styling freedom

Valeo SA will supply its Hydraulically Driven Fan System (HDFS) for the redesigned '03 Dodge Viper and on an '05 luxury SUV. The supplier also has letters of intent with customers to provide the system for two other major SUV platforms for the '05 model year, and several other programs are in the works for other customers by '06. All of the vehicles will be produced in North America. HDFS first debuted

By Tom Murphy • July 1, 2002

Dana Consolidates Torque/Traction Unit

Roughly one-third of Dana Corp.'s $10 billion in sales comes from torque and traction products, such as axles and driveshafts. The segments are strategically crucial to Dana, yet surprisingly, there has been little integration between the two. But the supplier is combining them into one global unit, with a new $24 million headquarters to be built southwest of Toledo, OH, on 30 acres in Monclova Township.

June 1, 2002

Brake Force

There's a new kid in town in the hotly contested market for automotive brake systems, and the stakes are high as this new player from Japan potentially could leapfrog to the world's No.2 position within a few years. Advics Co. Ltd. combines the brake operations of three of Japan's largest automotive suppliers: Denso Corp., Aisin Seiki Co. Ltd. and Sumitomo Electric Industries Co. Ltd. The company

By Tom Murphy • April 1, 2002

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 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

Cutting Out the Middleman

Composite Products Inc. (CPI) says it has developed a composite manufacturing process that allows it to sell its composite parts for 30% to 60% less than competitors that use the traditional composite material supply procedure. CPI's direct-feed thermoplastic (DFT) manufacturing process allows the Winona, MN-based composite molder to avoid buying composite pellets from a compounding company. The way

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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

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 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