Troubled Supplier Finally Has a Suitor
Plastech Engineered Products Inc., a growing plastics auto parts maker from Dearborn,MI is expected to launch a bid in bankruptcy court this week for rival Collins & Aikman Corp., a company roughly four times the size of Plastech.
Alan Johnson Named President, CEO of Advanced Accessory Systems
Advanced Accessory Systems, a manufacturer of automotive roof racks and towing systems in North America and Europe, has announced the appointment of Alan Johnson as its new president and CEO. Johnson succeeds Terence Seikel, who announced plans to resign last summer, in order to pursue other interests. Johnson has been president and COO of Plastech Engineered Products in Dearborn, Mich., since early last year when Plastech acquired LDM Technologies of Auburn Hills, Mich.
2005 Automotive News Pace Award Finalists Named
More than 30 automotive suppliers have been named finalists in the 11th annual Automotive News PACE Award competition. Open to suppliers that contribute products, processes, materials or services directly to the manufacture of cars or trucks, the PACE (Premier Automotive Suppliers’ Contribution to Excellence) Award is presented by Automotive News, Capgemini and Transportation Research Center Inc. (TRC Inc.). Judges selected 23 finalists and 10 honorable mention awardees based on extensive written responses to the 2005 PACE Award application. Finalists will now host site visits by industry, academic and business leaders to select the winners, which will be announced in April during the Society of Automotive Engineers conference in Detroit. Judges will evaluate each company’s innovation as well as its management team.
Venture Survival More at Risk
The protracted bankruptcy of auto supplier Venture Corp. continues, and the longer it drags on the less likely the plastics firm will survive, say automaker officials, supplier consultants and lawyers handling the case. Based in Fraser, Mich., Venture is one of the world’s largest auto-plastics suppliers and at its peak employed about 13,000 worldwide, including thousands in Michigan.