Suppliers: Page

Thrifty wants to sign up more dealers

What does a car rental company do with its older vehicles when it turns over the fleets?Thrifty Inc. has come up with a novel approach. The company is franchising its name under Thrifty Car Sales, and signing up dealers. Their supply of used cars would partially come from Thrifty Car Rental fleet turnovers.Thrifty dealers would get 15-20% of their inventory from Thrifty Car Rental, which buys about

By Steve Finlay • April 1, 2000

Drive Tek JV Pushes Drivetrain Outsourcing

Dana Corp. and GKN Automotive have formed a joint-venture company to provide complete drivetrain "service" for OEMs. The new venture, Drive Tek Ltd. of Auburn Hills, MI, wants to be a full-service supplier and "partner" to OEMs.Company executives say Drive Tek will design and/or provide driveline systems integration for all manner of passenger vehicles, selecting best-in-class suppliers for components

By Bill Visnic • April 1, 2000

Explore the Trendline➔

Automotive Manufacturing

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

By WardsAuto staff

Tech & Trends: Robo-Clamp: Dana’s Hydroforming Answer

When Magna International Inc. landed a major contract to produce frames for the GMT800 full-size pickups and sport/utility vehicles (SUVs) from General Motors Corp., it was a crushing blow for Dana Corp., which had supplied frames for the previous-generation CK pickups for 10 years.Dana lost the contract, as did Tower Automotive on the SUVs, partly because Magna had a valuable weapon in its technology

By Tom Murphy • Jan. 1, 2000

Pipeline: A Well-Kept Secret

Joseph Borruso is a man with a mission. Actually, a few missions.A few months ago, the Brooklyn, NY, native left Robert Bosch Corp., a massive global supplier with a name recognized around the world, to work for a company that is virtually unknown in North America.Hella KG Hueck & Co. of Lippstadt, Germany, known in Europe for its expertise in automotive lighting, is celebrating its 100th anniversary

By Tom Murphy • Dec. 1, 1999

Smart Tires--Look for new sidewall torsion sensors in an ‘02 model

Continental AG plans to consummate the marriage of tires and technology early next decade with the debut of its "intelligent tire," the first technology to determine the longitudinal and lateral forces acting on a tire - and translate that information into meaningful vehicle-dynamics enhancement.The Frankfurt, Germany-based company says its sidewall torsion (SWT) sensor, the primary component of the

By Brian Corbett • Nov. 1, 1999

Human resource for hire

What if you could offer your employees large corporation-style benefits, protect yourself from lawsuits, receive guidance in all government compliance issues - and not have to hire even one more employee to run your human resources and legal departments?In an age when a growing number of business functions are being outsourced to independent service suppliers, it should come as no surprise that administration

By Fred Bonnie • Aug. 1, 1999

‘It’s Not All Bad News’--But it’s not all encouraging, says Magna chief

HAMILTON, Ont. - Canadian supplier executives may have wanted a pep talk of sorts from Don Walker, president and chief executive of Magna International Inc., the nation's largest partsmaker.It could have been, well, a speech about how great it is to be part of the thriving North American auto industry and how things are so good that both suppliers and automakers from the U.S. have been tapping Canada

By Tom Murphy • June 1, 1999

Building The Gentle Air BagSuppliers refine technology to avoid minor injuries

Once upon a time motorists praised air bags for saving their lives in a crash. Now they expect air bags to save their lives, and if they suffer a minor burn or scrape during deployment, they sue. Although lawsuits involving relatively minor injuries from air bags are becoming common, a recent $64 million class-action judgment against DaimlerChrysler Corp. for an incident that caused minor burns on

By Drew Winter • April 1, 1999

Battle of the SensorsSuppliers will display run-flat systems at SAE expo

Bob Toth has a lot of faith in the "geniuses in the electronics industry."The folks who gave us a $10 calculator, he figures, surely can produce a low-cost sensor that alerts drivers to an impending flat tire.Several companies already have developed the sensors that are essential for so-called "run-flat" tires - the ones that can drive long distances (up to 200 miles [322 km] on Corvette) without

By Tom Murphy • March 1, 1999

Clean Sweep Some suppliers would rather leave automotive than deal withQS-9000

It may not have been intended as such, but QS-9000, the quality requirement of U.S. automakers, stands to rid the auto industry of dozens of small suppliers that are unable - or unwilling - to fully embrace the concept.The industry launched QS-9000 in 1994 to give suppliers a standard, comprehensive procedure to follow for meeting the product quality targets demanded by General Motors Corp., Ford

By Tom Murphy • Feb. 1, 1999

Birth of a Supplier--With four employees, ASCI joins push for smart air bags

Until 1992, Philip Kithil didn't know much about cars or the intricacies of air bag systems. He had been a lobbyist for a hotel association in New Mexico and had worked in advertising and promotions. He had even tried manufacturing skiing and camping gear.But in March of that year, his 17-year-old daughter had a car accident that changed his life, even though she wasn't seriously injured. The wreck

By Tom Murphy • Jan. 1, 1999

Suppliers Question GM’s Payment Timing

Despite a recent WAW survey in which suppliers judged General Motors Corp. the best auto-maker to work with (see WAW - July '98, p.66), reports are trickling out that GM is taking up to 120 days, and in some cases even longer, to pay for work delivered.GM says it isn't so."We did change the payment structure so that checks go out on the second day of the second month, and the reason for that was to

Nov. 1, 1998

A Golden Opportunity Continental eyes ‘intelligent tire’ with ITTA brakes

Continental AG's pending purchase of ITT Automotive's Brake and Chassis operations for $1.9 billion represents the latest shake-up in the volatile brake component market.Robert Bosch Corp. acquired AlliedSignal's foundation brake business in 1996. The former braking business of VarityKelsey-Hayes became LucasVarity in a 1996 merger and will now become part of LucasVarity Automotive. LucasVarity also

By Tom Murphy • Oct. 1, 1998

Suppliers unite for a stronger voice

Automaking's full of acronyms: USCAR, NHTSA, EPA, CAFE. So, why not add another?This year's Traverse City gathering - officially the University of Michigan Management Briefing Seminars - served as the launching point for the newest of the bunch.AOESA (Automotive Original Equipment Suppliers Assn.) doesn't quite roll off your tongue, but organizers hope it will provide a greater collective voice for

By Barbara McClellan • Sept. 1, 1998

Modular Squad Suppliers market suspension-brake assemblies

he idea of one partsmaker supplying a "corner module" that integrates suspension and braking components is relatively foreign in the United States.A number of vehicle platforms in Europe and South America employ the concept with success, but the double wishbone-type suspensions in many U.S.-market vehicles make it difficult to install such large one-piece modules.All that is about to change."We're

By Tom Murphy • Sept. 1, 1998

CAW steps up organizing at Magna plants

With Magna International Inc. expanding and promoting its ability to build complete vehicles, the Canadian Auto Workers union is intensifying efforts to organize workers at plants owned by the Markham, Ont. mega-supplier. Graham Orr, Magna's executive vice president, says the company's entrepreneurial culture, strong communication system and profit-sharing plan make unions unnecessary. Last April

Aug. 1, 1998

Wards Supplier Survey We’re listening’... and you’ve got a lot on your mind

Oh great! Another survey.Just what we all need when we get home from work is a two-page questionnaire asking us everything except our favorite color.Sure, we'll get around to it, as soon as we dispose of the junk mail, pay the paperboy, hang up on the meddlesome telephone solicitors and boot the guy at the door asking us to sign his "save the dryer lint" petition.Will "free time" ever mean anything

By Tom Murphy • July 1, 1998

Asahi buys PPG’s European Operations

The European assets of PPG Industries glass operations are being purchased by Asahi Glass, parent company of North American automotive glass supplier AP Technoglass. The $230 million deal will double Asahi's European market share. Glaverbel, an Asahi affiliate, currently operates factories in Belgium, The Netherlands, Czech Republic and Russia. PPG's current European operations generate annual sales

July 1, 1998

Minority Suppliers Get a Boost

For years, minority-owned companies have done the grunt work of the automotive industry in the shadow of the major Tier 1 suppliers.While big multi-national suppliers with deep pockets dazzle auto executives with sophisticated products or their ability to integrate components into ready-to-assemble systems, the role of minority suppliers generally has been more modest: often making money on simple,

By Jeff Green, Jackson, Kathi, Tom Murphy • July 1, 1998

The ‘American Autobahn’--German and other suppliers cruise into South Carolina

The future looked bleak for South Carolina in the early 1990s. Alabama had beaten out its southern neighbor for the coveted Mercedes-Benz plant. Textiles and tobacco, two of the state's top industries, were struggling. When the Pentagon announced plans in 1992 to shut down the enormous Charleston Naval Base and Shipyard, many knew it couldn't get any worse.They were right, and the automotive industry

By Tom Murphy • June 1, 1998

New Glow-in-the-Dark Plastic Technology

Headlamp Optical Concept Introduced Valeo Sylvania introduces the new Baroptic headlamp, which provides flexibility in the front-end styling of vehicles, while optimizing aerodynamics. Due by 2000, the system's bulk is significantly reduced as compared with complex-shape headlamp technology allowing enhanced management of "under-hood" packaging. The Baroptic headlamp can be positioned vertically,

May 1, 1998

Materials Suppliers Continue Global Push Asia remains a powerful lure for most

Eric Carlson, a marketing manager at DuPont Automotive who spent years in China, says that being successful there is like crossing a wide and busy street in Beijing."Imagine thousands of bicycles per minute passing in front of you; there's never a break, and you want to get to the other side. No one will stop for you to cross, so you have to take the first step on your own. Start on a determined course,

By Drew Winter • May 1, 1998

New Driveshaft Absorbs Crash Energy

Energy absorbing collapsible steering columns have vastly improved the safety of modern-day vehicles. Now Dana Corp.'s Spicer Driveshaft Div. is applying a similar principle to driveshaft technology that will be used on global car and truck platforms starting as early as the 2000 model year.Instead of being simply a straight tube that can fracture unpredictably in a major crash, the new driveshaft

April 1, 1998

PCs Merging with Cars and Trucks

Just when you were getting used to driving, talking on the cellular phone and drinking your morning cappuccino simultaneously, the giants of the computer and automotive supplier industry want you to be able to operate your personal computer while you drive, too.Auto PC is the cutting edge technology showcased at this year's SAE International Congress and Exhibition, and General Motors Corp.'s Delphi

April 1, 1998

$20 Million Tax Break Lures Bosch to Michigan

This time it's official. Robert Bosch Corp. will move its Braking Div. headquarters from South Bend, IN, to its corporate campus in Farmington Hills, MI, employing about 475 people. Bosch had announced the move last May, but then said it was considering staying in Indiana. But a $20.8-million tax break from the Michigan Economic Growth Authority made the decision a little easier. Groundbreaking is

April 1, 1998