Automotive News - November 17, 2008 - (Page 14b) 14B • NOVEMBER 17, 2008 Suppliers to the 2009 Nissan Maxima JUNCTION BOX Yazaki WIRING PROTECTION SYSTEMS Delfingen RESERVE TANK ABC Group STARTER Mitsubishi Electric COOLANT SYSTEM Cooper-Standard HVAC CONTROL PANELS TRW FRONT END MODULE CalsonicKansei CATALYTIC CONVERTER HEAT SHIELDS Dana TRANSMISSION BEARING INA TRANSMISSION SEALS NOK SIDESHAFTS GKN Driveline TORSIONAL VIBRATION DAMPER Vibracoustic BRAKE PEDAL MODULE KSR International RACK GUIDE Oiles America POWER SEAT RECLINER Keiper SEAT RECLINER MOTOR Nidec SEAT HEATERS W.E.T. Automotive Systems SEAT KITS TACLE Seating USA REAR SUBFRAME Yorozu Automotive Tennessee PARKING BRAKE ASSEMBLY OTSCON INTAKE MANIFOLD Mann+Hummel FRONT WASHER NOZZLE Bowles Fluidics KEYLESS ACCESS AND START SYSTEM Continental CABIN AIR FILTER Freudenberg Nonwovens INTERIOR AUTODIMMING MIRROR Gentex ROOF LIGHT Pilkington SUNROOF Inalfa; Webasto SEAT BELTS Takata DOOR SASH Magna ROOF DITCH MOLDING Rehau DOOR LATCH Kongsberg Automotive GAS SPRING DECKLID Stabilus TRUNK LID OUTER U. S. Steel REAR EMBLEM Guardian Automotive REAR NISSAN EMBLEM Siegel-Robert TAILLIGHT Stanley Electric SHOCKS ZF SHOCK ABSORBER BUSHINGS PML STAINLESS STEEL EXHAUST TIP Valor Manufacturing BRACKET CLIP GR Spring & Stamping HOT STAMPED REINFORCEMENTS Martinrea WHEELHOUSE LINERS Amtex SUSPENSION SPRINGS Nasco FLOOR INSULATOR UGN ACOUSTIC DAMPER Sika TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SENSORS Schrader Electronics PRIMER PPG 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 During tough times, region seeks Southern comfort April Wortham awortham@crain.com HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Over the past decade or so, the South has watched the slow deterioration of domestic automakers with a sort of relieved sympathy. Nobody likes to see fellow Americans lose their jobs, and names like Chevrolet and Ford still inspire heartthumping loyalty on this side of the Mason-Dixon Line. But the South — empowered by its newfound automotive prowess — couldn’t help feeling that many of the Detroit 3’s problems were those automakers’ own doing. So it’s with prudent confidence that states such as Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi have rolled out the economic welcome mat to foreignbased auto manufacturers and their suppliers, reassuring themselves with the mantra, “We’re not like Detroit.” They have the numbers to prove it. According to the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, the Southeast gained 319,437 automotive jobs between 1997 and 2007 while the Midwest, the traditional heart of the North American auto industry, lost 964,563 jobs. Even in the current meltdown, the Southeast continues to attract new players. In a few weeks, Volkswagen AG will begin pouring the foundations for a $1 billion factory in Chattanooga, Tenn. Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Corp. is hard at work on a Prius factory near Tupelo, Miss., and Kia Motors Corp. is installing its first pieces of equipment in a plant along the Alabama-Georgia line. news ANALYSIS Confidence is weakening Despite these signs of growth, the region’s confidence is weakening. The so-called Southern Automotive Corridor is facing its first major test since Nissan Motor Co.’s leap of faith into Smyrna, Tenn., 20 years ago. Southern factories, revered for their flexibility and efficiency, are cutting shifts. Companies are buying out workers, and suppliers are wringing their hands over excess capacity. Suddenly, the South is wondering, “Could it happen to us?” “The $64,000 question is: What is the future for manufacturing in the Southeast? And I can’t even pretend to give you the answer to that question,” said Greg Daniels, senior vice president of U.S. manufacturing for Nissan North America Inc. Daniels was part of a panel of industry leaders who spoke in Huntsville this month during the inaugural Southern Automotive Conference. The conference was the first joint meeting of the Alabama, Ten- nessee and Mississippi automotive manufacturers associations. The idea of the conference was to provide a forum for members to share ideas on common issues and goals, such as work force development and lean manufacturing. But most of this year’s 475 attendees came seeking reassurance amid troubled times. Daniels and others did the best they could to provide it. “We’re going to have to not put our head in the sand, and we’re all going to have to move forward with the things that we do well: offering the best products possible at the highest quality possible and the lowest price possible,” he said. “We’re very good at doing all of these things in the Southeast.” Offering buyouts Tom Waggoner, purchasing manager for Mercedes-Benz U.S. Interna- tional, was also upbeat about the region’s future. His cheerleading came despite the fact that earlier this month, the Mercedes factory in Vance, Ala., offered buyouts to nearly all its almost 4,000 employees. Vance is the only Mercedes factory worldwide that builds only SUVs. Sales of those vehicles, as a group, have fallen more than the market as a whole. But Waggoner said that’s no reason to panic. The automaker has a plan, he said, just like everyone else at the conference did. “It’s an extremely ugly picture right now, and it might be the ugliest picture seen in modern automotive manufacturing when you look at the overall market,” Waggoner said. “It’s definitely a challenge we’re all going to have to address, but we don’t really look at it as hopeless. And it’s certainly not hopeless in the Southeast.” Maybe that’s the new mantra.c American Howa Kentucky to expand plant BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — American Howa Kentucky Inc. will add three manufacturing lines to the plant that opened here in March. The $12 million expansion, expected to be completed by April, will add 56,000 square feet to the 81,294 square-foot factory. American Howa Kentucky, a unit of Howa Textile Industry Co. of Kasugai, Japan, makes headliners, dash insulators and other interior parts for Toyota, Nissan and Honda in North America. Denso shrinks air conditioner KARIYA, Japan — Denso Corp. has developed an air conditioning unit that is 20 percent smaller than current models for Toyota’s iQ compact car. Toyota expects to launch the iQ in the United States in mid-2009. Denso used new resin molding techniques to reduce the size of the blower fan. It also mounted the air conditioner in the center of the instrument panel to create more cabin space. Denso, of Kariya, supplies advanced technology, systems and parts. in China. The vehicle, built and sold in China, is to debut in June 2010. Harman will make the parts at its plant in Suzhou, China. Harman International Industries, of Stamford, designs and manufactures high-end audio and entertainment systems. Sumitomo finishes Norton deal Harman supplies China 5 series STAMFORD, Conn. — Harman International Industries Inc. will supply audio systems and rear-seat entertainment systems for the extended-wheelbase BMW 5 series OSAKA, Japan — Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd., of Osaka, and trading house Sumitomo Corp., of Tokyo, have completed their acquisition of Norton Manufacturing Co., of Fostoria, Ohio. The companies made the $50 million deal last summer. Sumitomo Metal now owns 60 percent and Sumitomo Corp. owns 40 percent of Norton, which has been renamed SMI Crankshaft LLC. The acquisition is Sumitomo Metal’s entry into machining, and gives it an integrated manufacturing system, from base metal manufacturing to forging and machining. Sumitomo Metal supplies automotive crankshafts though International Crankshaft Inc., of Georgetown, Ky.
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