Automotive News - January 21, 2008 - (Page 28F)

28F • JANUARY 21, 2008 American Axle’s rising son may be another Dauch DETROIT — CEO Richard E. Dauch, 65, appears to be grooming his youngest son to become president of American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings David Dauch Inc. David Dauch, 43, became COO of the publicly held Detroit driveline maker on Dec. 1. He also became chairman of American Axle’s operating committee. “That is where the power is,” a former American Axle manager says. David Dauch had been executive vice president of strategic and commercial development. On Dec. 1, Yogendra Rahangdale stepped down as president and COO and became vice chairman. Spokeswoman Renee Rogers said the company decided not to fill the president’s position immediately. — Robert Sherefkin Trelleborg unit adds tech center Mike McNulty mmcnulty@crain.com DETROIT — A North American unit of Sweden’s Trelleborg Automotive is building a 48,500-square-foot tech center here to consolidate its testing and commercial operations. Trelleborg Rubore AB says the suburban Northville, Mich., site will house its brake test laboratory — including dynamometers that now are at the company’s Norcross, Ga., plant — along with a technical laboratory and commercial offices that are now in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Construction began in December; completion is scheduled for June. Trelleborg Rubore supplies auto- motive noise damping products. Technical and commercial employees based in Bloomfield Hills “will all hopefully transfer with us to the new site,” a spokeswoman says. Most of the 15 employees at the testing unit at Norcross probably won’t relocate to Northville, according to John Bennett, managing director for Trelleborg Rubore Inc., the U.S. arm of the company. They will receive severance packages and assistance in finding other employment, he says. Both the Bloomfield Hills and Norcross facilities will continue operating, Bennett says. The Norcross facility houses a key warehouse for Trelle- borg, and the Bloomfield Hills site houses other Trelleborg operations besides Rubore. “This move is about expansion,” Bennett says. “We’ve outgrown the facility in Bloomfield Hills. This move will almost double our size.” Previously, much of Trelleborg Rubore’s r&d was handled in Sweden. Now, as the company’s North American business grows, “it has become necessary to set up a satellite r&d center in the U.S. close to the customer,” the spokeswoman says. The new center will offer component and chassis testing, product development, durability testing and quick prototyping. c Honda plans to staff its new factory in Greensburg, Ind., with workers hired from applications submitted online. This rendering shows the factory where production of saleable Civics is to begin in October. Honda taps Web for workers Ralph Kisiel rkisiel@crain.com Honda in Greensburg, Ind. WHEN WHAT Honda Manufacturing of Indiana LLC turned to the Web for workers at its new Greensburg, Ind., assembly plant. For the first time since it started building cars in the United States, Honda accepted only online job applications. It will hire 2,000 workers for the factory and 300 for other jobs at the southeastern Indiana plant. Production of saleable Honda Civics is scheduled to begin in October. Over a two-week period in September, Honda received 31,000 online applications. The automaker’s work force will come from a 20-county region in Indiana, which includes Indianapolis in Marion County. Honda has taken some heat from UAW members who have lost their jobs from plant closings in Madison and Delaware counties, both outside Honda’s 20-county hiring zone. Honda says it wants its workers close to the plant. June 28, 2006 March 19, 2007 September 2007 July 2008 October 2008 Mid-2009 Honda announces new Indiana plant Groundbreaking Online applications accepted Preproduction to begin Production of Honda Civics to begin Hiring of 2 shifts to be complete Source: Honda Manufacturing of Indiana Kia hiring is online only ➤ 28H process. Indiana residents without access to the Internet were able to use one of 85 WorkOne Centers operated by the agency. The state did not track how many applications were filed from the WorkOne Centers. Honda eliminated applicants who did not reside in the hiring area, were not at least 18 years old, did not have a high school diploma or General Educational Development credential and failed to meet other Honda requirements. Then, with the agency’s aid, Honda held a random draw to reduce the pool of applicants to 20,000. The state has begun initial telephone interviews with the 20,000. Applicants then are selected for interviews to determine interests and abilities. Honda has begun further testing of these applicants on Saturdays to determine basic skills and ability to follow directions. Only then will Honda make a conditional offer. Honda will tap that pool until all hiring for two shifts is done by mid- 2009. “Our commitment to the state is 2,000 new jobs by December 2009, so we’ll have no problem meeting that,” Stoner says. Training in Ohio Successful applicants will train on the Civic production line and take training classes at Honda’s assembly plant in East Liberty, Ohio. The East Liberty plant is about 150 miles from the new plant in Greensburg. Honda makes the Honda Civic, Element and CR-V in East Liberty. Eighty to 130 trainees will be at the East Liberty plant at any one time, Stoner says. Most training will take four to six weeks. The trainees will stay in Ohio during the week and return to Indiana on the weekends. Honda will provide them with housing and living expenses in addition to their regular pay, he says. The workers will start building preproduction units in July, Stoner says. The goal for the plant is 400 vehicles a day by the end of March 2009, and 800 vehicles a day by the middle of 2009 when the second shift is added. c An hour’s drive The 20 counties are “all within basically an hour’s drive from the Greensburg site, so we can have ontime start of production every day,” says Andrew Stoner, a Honda spokesman in Greensburg. “Given that state incentives are being paid for by Indiana taxpayers,” Honda will hire only Indiana residents. Honda used the Indiana Department of Workforce Development to help with the online application http://fanucrobotics.com http://fanucrobotics.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - January 21, 2008

Campi will move fast to buy global Ford rolls out new F series — but will it stay No. 1? GM will push metro megastores BMW: We may need a 'green' brand Competition claims traditions German summit Toyota: We have enough plants for now Chinese pitch innovation, not just price Mercedes in, Cadillac out as sponsor of Masters golf tournament Auto show walkaround: Chasing the YIPS around Detroit New Acura TSX will get a diesel Toyota: We'll crack 35-mpg CAFE before 2020 Audi predicts 1 million global sales in 2008 Toyota crosses over into tricky segment LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Digital edition is a 'quantum leap' KEITH CRAIN: Here they come, ready or not EDITORIAL: Incentives war isn't the answer to sales downturn LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Toyota over Chevy? Don’t be too sure DIGITAL EDITION: You did your homework Chrysler concepts show brand tweaks Chrysler: 'Hemi is not powertrain of the future' Some of what we heard at the Detroit auto show Corvette has a future — but maybe a lighter, greener one Nissan exec: Cube is coming to America Subaru relies on new Forester Farley: Ford must groom the market Ford still funds Jag, Land Rover product development Ford will probably develop its new rwd cars in the U.S. Volvo considers North American production Good design: Solving problems, making a statement Horbury wants a more aerodynamic F-150 Hyundai upgrades next Sonata's interior M-B could build C class in U.S. VW hints at vehicles for new N.A. plant Customer demand for CTS sedans strains production capabilities at Cadillac GM to test ZR1 carbon fiber weight savings Honda Pilot has more room, power Indiana plant will boost Honda's flexibility Zetsche sees 20% diesel mix for Mercedes-Benz GM hopes to have E-Flex test vehicles ready by June GM to increase Enclave output Cadillac aims high with Provoq Pontiac to launch G8 marketing in March Big-truck sales fall 43.5% in Dec. Personnel Buckle up for a rocky '08, economists warn Canada sales up 2.4% in '07 Gioia: Ford hybrids will be profitable by year end American Honda opens workplace diversity office Dealers From CDs to Sync: Auto industry races to adapt in-car IT trends Microsoft exec sees a car as 'another room in the house' China's Geely plans plant in Mexico Chrysler exec: China exporters need time Murtaugh: Nissan deal won't affect Chrysler-Chery venture Strike by writers makes TV iffy for auto marketers Super Bowl auto advertisers get pre-game jitters Final Say GM bumps buyout total to 46,000 GM considers U.S.-made Astra Good Karma: Mean, green, fighting machine Purves confirms it: The end is near Rehab for designers: A change can do you good Tata's achievement: Redefining 'cheap' Fans remember auto commercials with sports themes Which brand is stronger — Scion or Prius? Engine advances bring cleaner emissions a step closer Suppliers to the 2008 Ford Focus Varable compression ratio makes a comeback Change the engine's stroke Integrate components to boost efficiency Reduce the size of the engine Eliminate the cams and count the savings ZF expects surge in new orders American Axle's rising son may be another Dauch Honda taps Web for workers Trelleborg unit adds tech center Kia restricts hiring at Ga. plant to Web applicants Magna pursues Ogihara Supplier personnel Age of intelligent transportation is getting closer Plastic spoiler saves weight Automotive News' cartoonist looks at 2007 8 will enter European Automotive Hall of Fame Pininfarina lifted family business to new heights Merciless cost cutter Calvet rescued PSA Opel boys turned bicycle venture into automaker Giacosa fathered the Fiat 500 JCI to supply batteries to Chinese automakers Automakers will spend more on digital ads Ford snares star role in return of 'Knight Rider' GM Certified markets online to Hispanics Writers' strike could benefit auto marketers

Automotive News - January 21, 2008

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