Automotive News - March 3, 2008 - (Page 24b)

24B • MARCH 3, 2008 Suppliers to the 2008 Ford Taurus TECHNICAL ADHESIVE TAPES Scapa C-PILLAR ABC Group SUBWOOFERS Panasonic Automotive Systems FUEL CAP Stant Manufacturing REAR LAMP Visteon REAR BUMPER REINFORCEMENT Meridian Automotive Systems FUEL TANK TI Automotive REAR SPRING SEATS Cooper-Standard Automotive REAR SPRINGS; REAR AXLE SYSTEMS ZF REAR SUSPENSION SPRING Mubea GLASS RUN SEALS Cooper-Standard Automotive SIDE DOOR LATCH Magna Closures FLOOR CARPET IAC LOCKSET Strattec FASTENERS TRW Engineered Fasteners & Components OUTSIDE HANDLE AND CAP A-PILLAR ADAC Tower Automotive Automotive CLEAR COAT DuPont SIDE AIRBAG Key Safety Systems SATELLITE ROOF ANTENNA Harada SUN ROOF DRAIN HOSE CooperStandard Automotive TILT/SLIDE SUNROOF Webasto Roof Systems CONSOLE DUCT ABC Group STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS Methode Electronics STEERING WHEEL Autoliv CLIMATE CONTROLS Visteon COMPLETE A/C LOOP TI Automotive HEAT SHIELDS Rieter GAS SPRING HOOD Stabilus POWER STEERING MODULE Continental Automotive Systems CAMSHAFTS ThyssenKrupp Technologies CAMSHAFT CASTING Mahle AUTOMOTIVE BELT DRIVE SYSTEM TENSIONER Gates HOOD LATCH COATING Magni GRILLE Siegel-Robert WIRE HARNESS Yazaki TRANSMISSION NEEDLE BEARINGS INA CHASSIS COMPONENTS ZF Lenksysteme CENTER SHAFT AND PLANET CARRIER Hirschvogel SHOCK TOWER FRONT STABILIZER BRAKE SUSPENSION BAR CALIPERS SUBFRAME Midway PBR Cosma Products Columbia International Group AWD ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT JTEKT HALOGEN FOGLAMP Hella PARK LOCK SOLENOID Johnson Electric WASHER NOZZLES Bowles Fluidics WASHER BOTTLE Kautex Textron BRAKE TUBE ASSEMBLIES TI Automotive Suppliers wanted: If you are a supplier and have questions or want your information considered for our car cutaways, contact Steven Wingett at: automotivenews@supplierbusiness.com Is Blackhawk purchase bucking a trend? Troubled plastics suppliers find few potential buyers Rhoda Miel rmiel@crain.com very, very robust. We’re very happy with how well things have gone, but obviously we would have liked some more value. CLIFF CROLEY Blackhawk “ The bidding has been Blackhawk Automotive Plastics Inc. may be nearing its exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under a new owner. But don’t expect other troubled automotive-plastics suppliers to find buyers soon. It is not easy to predict who might be interested in investing in the auto plastics supply base at this point, says Tim Dumond, a director with consulting firm Grant Thornton LLP. Even buyers who had been willing to take on high risks now are being cautious. “There are some bargains, but the equity funds are learning right now that just because something is a bargain, it doesn’t mean it’s a value,” Dumond says. “The price is irrelevant compared to the work involved.” ” of Blackhawk being primarily interior and they’ve been primarily exterior,” Dumond says. “It’s an interesting play, but how it all fits together is beyond me right now.” Blackhawk bidders Injection molder Blackhawk, of Salem, Ohio, received about 15 written offers for its assets in a sale led by W.Y. Campbell & Co. It has selected fellow auto supplier Flex-N-Gate Corp. as the lead bidder for a Wednesday, March 5, auction. Flex-N-Gate, of Urbana, Ill., already has set a purchase price of nearly $20.8 million for Blackhawk, which has annual sales of about $130 million. Other bidders must beat that price by at least $500,000 in the auction to win over Flex-N-Gate. “The bidding has been very, very robust,” Blackhawk CEO Cliff Croley said in a Feb. 20 telephone interview. “We’re very happy with how well things have gone, but obviously we would have liked some more value.” Blackhawk has nearly 1,600 employees with plants in Salem and Mason, Ohio. It molds functional interior parts, including air ducts. It filed for Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Youngstown, Ohio, in October, citing rising costs and slowed production by its customers. Flex-N-Gate is a privately owned auto supplier that began as a metal specialist and expanded into plastics in 2001 when it purchased Ventra Group Inc. of Oakville, Ontario. Ventra makes bumper fascias and other exterior parts. Flex-N-Gate paid $41 million for Ventra. Ventra’s total sales were about $500 million. Ventra, like Blackhawk, was purchased through a bankruptcy auction process. “Flex-N-Gate is interesting because Scant interest Few other troubled plastic suppliers are getting the number of bids that Blackhawk has received. Many potential buyers of auto parts suppliers have backed off in recent months as conditions have worsened. The slowdown in the housing industry, a credit crunch, slowing vehicle sales and higher resin prices have scared away investors. “It’s been predominantly really high-risk equity funds that have been looking,” says Jim Gillette, director of supplier analysis for CSM Worldwide, of suburban Detroit. Some companies are still on the prowl for small companies that can be fixed, he says. But the bigger the target company, the fewer the potential buy- ers. Even overseas investors from China and India that had been looking for opportunities to expand into North America have been quiet, he says. “There isn’t the funding available for big firms,” Gillette says. That could mean problems for a company like Plastech Engineered Products Inc., which makes $1.5 billion worth of plastic parts for the auto industry. The suburban Detroit company filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit on Feb. 1. It could also make funding more difficult for Blue Water Plastics Inc., a $200 million injection molder of auto parts, which filed for Chapter 11 protection with the Detroit court on Feb. 12. The focus of discussions about Plastech has been its ongoing struggle with customer Chrysler LLC, which wants to take possession of its tools and send the work to other suppliers. On Feb. 19, Judge Philip Shefferly ruled that while Chrysler still owns the molds, moving them out of Plastech at this time would create too much damage for the molder, making it impossible for the company to continue in business. In other words, he ruled, Chapter 11 protection takes precedence over Chrysler’s right to do what it wants with its tooling. For now, Plastech continues to make parts for Chrysler and other customers. Next for Blackhawk Blackhawk Automotive Plastics is preparing to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a unit of Flex-N-Gate, which emerged as the lead bidder in an auction last month. Flex-N-Gate agreed to buy the supplier for nearly $20.8 million. A glance at Blackhawk Headquarters: Salem, Ohio Annual sales: About $130 million CEO: Cliff Croley Employees: Nearly 1,600 at plants in Salem and Mason, Ohio Products: Injection-molded interior auto parts such as air ducts Just two years ago, there was interest in the auto supplier sector by major financial investors. Wilbur Ross, who made a name by finding money in the steel industry, created International Automotive Components Group by buying up parts of other suppliers including the interiors unit of Lear Corp. and plants once run by the former Collins & Aikman Corp. Financier Ira Rennert, through his Renco Group Inc., is working to complete a purchase of Delphi Corp.’s interiors operations. Carl Icahn made a failed bid to buy the seating group of Lear. But there have not been any hints of interest from any of those players for something the size of Plastech yet, although it is early in the process. Says Dumond: “For these plastics guys, it’s not going to be getting any easier to find money going forward.” c Exit funds? What’s uncertain, both Gillette and Dumond say, is who would be available to provide the funding that Plastech will need to finance its exit from Chapter 11.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - March 3, 2008

Bob Nardeli's new big-idea guy New Kia boss reaches out to restless dealers Scion hits a wall Lithia losses raise caution flag Detroit 3 shun talk of NAFTA do-over Lincoln names new marketing manager Mercedes to launch hybrid sedan in '09 Mazda has new top marketing exec M-B will hit the road with 50-state diesels Pontiac puts big ad bucks into traditional media for G8 Reynolds, ADP diverge on growth strategies Ford plans to cut fleet sales 10% in 2008 Mazda: New models, styling will boost its loyalty rate Run-up to axle strike adds to supplier woes Webasto's fast heater will debut by 2010 Russian plant wants to be world's biggest A Lancer is hatched Chrysler throws out purchasing rulebook Honda sets lofty hybrid goal, with Civic's help Honda: Use of ethanol limited, must be biomass Honda CEO Fukui: No recession in U.S., despite soft sales in spots 550 hp? 620 hp? Is GM crazy? Doug Fraser was a great leader How ironic: Lyons learns caution Well done, Doug Don't let Calif. impose fuel rules on the nation Blame the dealer, not the brand Cutting weight doesn't cut safety When Lutz dumps on global warming ... JM exec Czubay: A taste for hogs, pierogi Doug Fraser: A good man to have known Fraser led UAW with 'combination of substance, politics and charm' Autonet finds success at NADA with wi-fi for cars GM to sell medium-truck business, keep dealer network Web classified ad firms renew marketing to dealers, buyers Chery designs venture's vehicles China venture eyes 20,000 Fiesta hatchback sales Toyota plans crossovers in China Dongfeng, YuAn plan minicars BMW shakes up global marketing, sales ranks Delphi divestiture boosts forging supplier Is Blackhawk purchase bucking a trend? Repair company grows as Detroit 3 struggle BorgWarner unit expands German automakers seek more parts sourced in North America Hyundai picks ArvinMeritor Japan parts firm to build Miss. plant Nissan to increase spending on IT Purchase keeps Tenn. plant open Automakers hit with apartheid claims Mexico sales flat in January Ford prices '09 Flex atop crossover line Hamp rejoins Visteon board RV deliveries decline 3.4% in December Subaru lowers Forester price Personnel Bright future for LED headlight suppliers? Valeo's Morin to Pardus: Learn before you leap German automakers aren't worried about U.S. recession Porsche's Wiedeking: We must retool VW Europe's loud debate over quieter tires Noise level depends on the tires, the road Auto industry robotics spending jumps 43% in 2007 Electronic brakes struggle to get traction Big Texas dealer returns to some domestic brands AutoNation chief sees tough '08, better '09 In downturn, Sonic looks beyond new cars GM promotes service, parts leads for dealerships 10 cool dealership technologies found at NADA Dealers Kia will build transmissions at Georgia plant Gibson leaves DealerTrack board Akebono closing Kentucky plant Feds issue Ford fire warning Magna net income drops VW to use Siemens' software A tale of 2 exhaust systems EU wants CO2 in ads; battle looms Maize malaise stalls ethanol Tata to siesta during Ford's Fiesta Honda moves its American bike offshore Honda will recycle cycle plant Tom LaSorda's multimillion-dollar smile

Automotive News - March 3, 2008

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