Automotive News - June 2, 2008 - (Page 30B)

Rolf Jess, head of group controlling for Stankiewicz GmbH, tells reporters in Montgomery, Ala., in April that the German maker of sounddampening components will invest $16.4 million in a second U.S. factory, in Vance, Ala. From left: Marcus Moody, a Mercedes engineer; Dieter Kreuzberg, Stankiewicz development director; Jess; and Alabama Gov. Bob Riley. Foreign suppliers adding capacity in Southeast April Wortham awortham@crain.com Don’t tell Michael Geaghan that the U.S. auto industry is shrinking. The general manager of Stankiewicz International Corp. in Spartanburg, S.C., sees plenty of room for growth — as long as he’s looking south. In April, Stankiewicz GmbH, a German maker of sound-dampening components, said it will invest $16.4 million in a second U.S. factory, in Vance, Ala. When it opens in 2010, the Alabama factory will manufacture acoustical components, wheel wells and flooring systems for Mercedes-Benz and General Motors. Those are the same kinds of components Stankiewicz has been supplying to BMW from its Spartanburg factory since 1994. But Geaghan says a combination of factors — including a weakening U.S. dollar, rising transportation costs and the prospect of landing business with other automakers in the American Southeast — justifies a second factory. “There is a growing regional presence. You’ve got Mercedes, Honda, Hyundai. …” says Geaghan, ticking off a list of automakers with assembly plants within 100 miles of the planned Alabama factory. “All of those are certainly opportunities.” Stankiewicz isn’t the only one to see it that way. Amid a softening U.S. market, foreign-based automotive suppliers are adding manufacturing capacity in droves in the Southeast, a region with a growing worldwide reputation for low labor costs, minimal union presence and business-friendly governments. A search by Automotive News turned up more than 160 instances of suppliers with headquarters outside the United States either expanding factories in the Southeast or adding to their North American manufacturing base with new plants in the region over the past two years. Following customers What’s driving the immigration? Many foreign-based suppliers are simply following the lead of their import-brand customers. Those automakers are building or expanding assembly plants in the Southeast in answer to rising U.S. demand for their products. Take BMW. When the German premium automaker announced in 1992 that it would build its first full manufacturing facility outside of Germany in South Carolina, it pledged to bring at least nine suppliers to the state. Today that number stands at 52. Most of those are foreign-owned. Now, as BMW prepares for a $750 million expansion of its Spartanburg factory, the local economic development authority says it expects the state’s BMW supplier base to double by the time the plant reaches full capacity of 240,000 units annually in 2012. Add in recent news that Volkswagen AG’s short list of sites for a proposed U.S. factory includes two Southern states — Alabama and Tennessee — and suppliers such as Germany’s ZF Lemforder GmbH are salivating at the chance for more business. ZF Lemforder is the car chassis technology division of ZF Friedrichshafen. see CAPACITY, Page 30D Our One-Source Approach to Automation Is Trusted by The World-Leading Automotive Manufacturers. FUJI MODULAR MACHINE SYSTEM Single Source Responsibility: • Fuji Dual Air Gap Spindles • Fuji Robot Controller • Fuji Integrated Robot • Fuji Auto Gauging • Fuji Work Stocker • Fuji Robot Controller PLC • Fuji Workholding • Fuji Guaranteed Process • Fuji Guaranteed Cycle Time • Fuji Automatic Tool Touch Probes • Build To A Takt Time • One Piece Flow - No Inventory Accumulation Booth #A-8721 Fuji’s modular turn/mill centers offer automotive manufacturers a one-source approach to automation. Working in perfect harmony, Fuji-designed and -built machine tools, integrated robots, work stockers, auto gauging equipment, conveyors, workholding and PLC meet production schedules, quality standards and profit goals. To learn more about how you can profit from Fuji Automated Process Perfection, give us a call. Visit www.fujimachine.com/an or call (847) 821-2432 SEEING IS BELIEVING Automated Process Perfection 30B Automotive News JUNE 2, 2008 http://www.fujimachine.com/an http://www.fujimachine.com/an

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Automotive News - June 2, 2008 Gas prices fuel industry's new era Chrysler faces tricky dealer mergers Honda may crank out more Civics in N.A. Mercedes will move into Chrysler Pacifica studio Ford to offer hatchback version of Fiesta Prestige Automotive sells stores but keeps Black Enterprise top spot Dealership marketers take to text messaging Senate to hear personal pleas on roof crush rule Magazine: Chrysler, Fiat are talking Former Fla. dealer gets jail for bilking bank That guy Alfred had possibilities Ford will make next Mustang look smaller Pontiac subcompact may come to U.S. GM: Battery glitch cuts hybrid sales Porsche exec: CAFE 'will not change our nature' Japanese rivals race for lithium batteries Jatco boosts CVT capacity in Mexico for N.A. vehicles Mercury deserves a better chance Rising gas prices have changed the U.S. market Marketing and sales: Context and content Mexico's Nemak grows beyond North America Buyers didn't quit GM; GM quit on its buyers Brand perceptions change slowly Bloggers are journalists, too Nice HQ, Nissan, but where's Nobe? Chrysler's Chernoby: Growing up gearhead Picture this Mitsubishi hopes new gearbox widens Evo's appeal Openlane gets funds Obituaries Survey: Going green can get your auto ad noticed Inrix: Router can reduce traffic delays Mazda6 gets own platform for U.S. ... sort of Mazda6 set to take on mid-sized sedan heavyweights Troubled or not, the United States still beckons What's next? More transplant models headed this way Exports help as Mitsubishi sorts things out Irma Elder: 'This is one of the toughest times we have had' Fitzgerald: Dealers, consumers need alliance Can Bertone design a comeback? Family-owned business struggles for survival Some design houses fall on tough times Hughes: Not a subscriber? No problem American Axle lines up new non-U.S. business GM think tank works to boost service business Toyota offers gas card as tire incentive VW turns to common software to develop products Continental's Calif. office targets Asian carmakers ZF sees chassis, axle opportunities in N.A. Flex: A new Ford image ... or just over the top? Ford targeted Flex interior quiet, ride Ex-dealership managers say firings were over religion Dealers Genesis in Toledo: It's a long story Back woes sideline Nardelli GM: 19,000 take buyouts Panama to head Nissan Mexicana Wilhite jumps to Jumpstart Dauch sons move up, out Kozyra leaves Continental Ford to lay off salaried staff More small cars to arrive in 2009-10 Even on used market, big trucks go begging Auto advertisers adopt mpg mantra Industry to motorists: We're here to help Diesel prices hit suppliers' Mexico sites Can Camry catch F series? Leno's words of wisdom for automakers Nissan's carbon credits ease global warming guilt Automotive CEOs' pay pales next to peers' Year of the Small Car can't come too soon Foreign suppliers adding capacity in Southeast From cows to kimchi: Making Alabama sweet home for Koreans After light-truck push, cars are king again Mexican suppliers expect sales record in '08

Automotive News - June 2, 2008

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