Hayes Lemmerz To Close Michigan Plant
Hayes Lemmerz International said it will permanently close its Howell, Mich., manufacturing facility as part of a manufacturing rationalization plan for its North American Wheel Group. The closure is intended to reduce operating costs and increase facility utilization, the company said.
Dover Motorsports Subsidiary Assigns Rights to Grand Prix of Denver to Open Wheel Racing Series, LLC
Dover Motorsports and its wholly owned subsidiary, Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, has reached an agreement with CART successor and owner of the Champ Car World Series, Open Wheel Racing Series, LLC (OWRS) to transfer to certain OWRS assets and rights that Grand Prix has relative to the organization and promotion of the Grand Prix of Denver, subject to certain conditions and approvals.
Former Goodyear Workers to Be Cut
About 100 white-collar workers at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. whose jobs were shifted to an outside vendor last month will not get to keep their jobs for much longer.
Timken Named to Fortune 500
Canton, Ohio-based manufacturer Timken Co. was named to Fortune magazine’s Fortune 500 listing of the largest companies in the U.S. With $3.8 billion in sales in 2003, Timken is ranked 444 overall and 12 on Fortune’s list of industrial and farm equipment manufacturers.
Midas Completes Debt Refinancing
Midas has entered into a three-year, $115 million credit facility to refinance its existing debt. The new facility consists of a $55 million revolving loan and a $60 million term loan from a group of lenders led by Bank One, NA.
NHTSA’s Runge, Continental Teves’ Kozyra to Speak at Automotive Suppliers’ Legislative and Public Policy Summit
Dr. Jeffrey Runge, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), will be joined by William Kozyra, president and CEO of Continental Teves North America, on Thursday, May 6, for a discussion on automotive safety, at the MEMA Legislative and Public Policy Summit: Advancing American Manufacturing, in Washington, D.C. Runge and Kozyra will discuss such topics as NHTSA’s and Congress’ views toward encouraging voluntary industry guidelines vs. mandates and how industry and government should address innovation and technology out-pacing regulation.
Democrats Raise Alert About ‘Manufacturing Czar’ Post
A Nebraska businessman whom President Bush wanted to nominate for the job of ”manufacturing czar” has withdrawn from consideration amid attacks from Democrats. Anthony Raimondo said he would not be a candidate for the position as Democratic organizations began e-mailing reporters that Raimondo had laid off workers in Nebraska and opened a plant in China. Two administration officials confirmed that Raimondo bowed out. One administration source said the withdrawal had nothing to do with the ”baseless” Democratic attacks.
Dura Automotive Standardizes Manufacturing Operations
Dura Automotive Systems has announced it will standardize its North American manufacturing operations on QAD MFG/PRO eB2 and related applications. QAD Inc. is a provider of enterprise applications for global manufacturers. QAD Global Services will work together with Dura to provide consulting and implementation services. Dura will deploy MFG/PRO eB2 at nine production sites and upgrade 11 other locations in North America. Dura said it expects QAD applications will help streamline manufacturing and enterprise functions shared by multiple locations, enable more efficient financial management and accelerate information transfer along the supply chain.
Replacement Parts To Acquire Louisiana Chain
Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance/Bumper to Bumper member Replacement Parts,Inc., which operates 134 stores and four distribution centers, has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Dimmick Supply Inc. The agreement will transfer all of Dimmick’s 10 stores and its single DC to Replacement Parts as of March 29. Dimmick Supply is also a Bumper-to-Bumper member, and its stores will continue to operate as such. The Dimmick stores are located in or adjoining existing Replacement Parts territories in southwest Louisiana and will be served out of the Monroe DC.
2003 Indy 500 Winner Gil de Ferran to Speak at SAE World Congress
Two-time CART FedEx Series Champion and Winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 500, Gil de Ferran, has been confirmed as a speaker in the SAE 2004 World Congress, to be held at Cobo Center in Detroit, Mich., March 8-11. The charismatic Brazil native will join an all-star group of racing experts in a session entitled “Passion for Performance” – The Transfer of Technology from Racing to High Performance Cars, to be held on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 at 1:30 p.m. in the Dana Technical Innovation Forum, part of the SAE World Congress Exhibition.