Struggling Detroit Woos Japan’s Carmakers
At many union halls in Michigan, signs on parking lots still warn that foreign-made cars “will be towed away at owner’s expense.” So why is Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan pushing so hard to close a sweetheart land deal with Toyota?
Standard & Poor’s Lowers C&A’s Rating
Collins & Aikman Corp.’s debt rating, already below investment grade, was lowered one level by Standard & Poor’s Thursday because of production cuts by the auto-parts maker’s customers and rising costs of materials such as plastics.
Motor Vehicle Lighting Council Names New Officers
Daniel Robusto, president and COO of Illinois-based North American Lighting, Inc., was recently elected chairman of the Motor Vehicle Lighting Council (MVLC). He succeeds Joseph Borruso, president and CEO of Hella North America, who served as the MVLC’s first chairman. The Motor Vehicle Lighting Council (MVLC) is a coalition of global automotive lighting and component manufacturers and related education and research institutions committed to bringing new lighting advancements to market in order to increase vehicle performance and vehicle and pedestrian safety.
Manufacturer to Establish U.S. Headquarters in Toledo, Ohio
After considering a number of competitive sites within a two-hour driving radius of Detroit, Egelhof Controls Corp., a German-based manufacturer serving the automotive and heating industries, has selected Toledo, Ohio, to house its U.S. headquarters and manufacturing operations. Cornel Broenner, currently at Egelhof’s production facility in Breitenbach, France, will relocate to Toledo to become the plant manager. Sales and engineering activities, which were established in metro Detroit in 2000, will also relocate to the new facility in Toledo.
MACS Members Elect New Board Officers
The results are in from last fall’s membership vote for the Mobile Air Conditioning Society Worldwide (MACS) board of directors. Elected to the board for a two-year term from the service installer sector are Gus Swensen of Cool Car Auto Air of Columbus, Ga., and Mark Fromberg of Ace Auto Air Specialists, Hollywood, Fla. Distributor representatives are Mark Sundberg of Cool Air, Inc. of Lewisville, Texas, and Phil Jones of J&N Auto Air, Harlingen, Texas. Representing the manufacturer sector are Jennifer Klas of Visteon, Buffalo, NY, and Marie Trepton of Ogura Corporation of Madison Heights, Mich.
Michigan’s Jobless Rate Hits 2004 High; Auto Industry Layoffs to Blame
Michigan’s unemployment rate jumped to its highest level of 2004 during November as higher-than-expected layoffs in automotive manufacturing took hold. The state’s Department of Labor and Economic Growth said Wednesday the jobless rate rose four-tenths of a percentage point to 7 percent, more than a point and a half above the nation’s rate of 5.4 percent.
Research Firm Publishes Automotive Suppliers Benchmarking Yearbook
Research and Markets, an international market research provider, recently released “Automotive Suppliers: 2004 Global Best Practices Statistical Yearbook,” a report on automotive supplier benchmarking. The report provides automotive supplier benchmarking data enabling Tier 1-2-3 and aftermarket suppliers to pinpoint how they perform against industry best practices in areas such as cost control, quality, human resource management and R&D.
Auto Supplier Profits Dwindle
Although new car and truck sales rose more than 2 percent during the first 10 months of 2004, many of the companies that supply parts to big automakers have little to celebrate. Their profits are shrinking as raw-material costs rise and production falls at General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. Already the nation’s two largest suppliers, Delphi Corp. and Visteon Corp., which had combined sales of $45.7 billion in 2003, have warned of lower-than-anticipated earnings this year. They cite higher materials expenses, particularly for steel, and plans by top U.S. automakers GM and Ford to turn out fewer vehicles.
MACS 25th Anniversary Convention Gets Support from Record Number of Sponsors
“NOW IS THE TIME!” — the 25th Anniversary Convention and Trade Show of the Mobile Air Conditioning Society (MACS) Worldwide is getting support from a record number of corporate sponsors. Forty sponsors have signed up for the show, which will take place February 1-3, 2005 at the Las Vegas Hilton.
MEMA Members Discuss Suppliers’ Counterfeiting Concerns with Leading Government Officials
Executives from several automotive parts manufacturers joined representatives of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) on Oct. 21 for a meeting to discuss the seriousness of the industry’s counterfeiting issue with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Under Secretary Asa Hutchinson and other members of his department. Hutchinson, who reports directly to Homeland Security Department Secretary Tom Ridge, noted during the meeting that the government will continue to devote resources behind fighting this growing problem and hopes that penalties for counterfeiters and those trafficking and selling counterfeit products will be increased.