Automotive News - May 12, 2008 - (Page 24B)

24B • MAY 12, 2008 IAC Upgraded presses monitor problems continued from Page 24A are operating according to specifications and point to any problems. Says Keppler: “This has been one of the big evolutions in our plant — real-time feedback.” Regional structure instrument panel carrier as it comes out of the press, automatically checking each in line, eliminating the possibility of human error. The plant has added in-mold monitoring capabilities in 26 of its 36 presses during the past two years. That makes it possible to adjust pressure and molding continually in the press on each part. At an on-floor command center, Raymont, the plant manager, points to the data coming from each upgraded press. The data show whether the presses IAC’s manufacturing improvements are taking place under a new corporate structure. IAC North America has its own operating structure, which also oversees IAC operations in China and India. A separate IAC entity in Europe is responsible for that area. The two units, along with IAC facilities in Japan and South America, cooperate on international projects but also can focus on their own regions. “We say that we have global strategy with local execution,” Keppler says. IAC still is bringing together some elements that it picked up in the past few months. Through the acquisition of Collins & Aikman’s carpet and acoustics division, IAC gained an acoustics-testing laboratory in suburban Detroit that is equal to anything the automakers have. The lab had been shuttered because of cost cutting within Collins & Aikman. IAC is reviving those capabilities at that site. IAC also taps Collins & Aikman’s compression molding tool-making capabilities in Old Fort, N.C., carried over from C&A’s carpet facilities. IAC uses those to improve manufacturing of headliners in Port Huron, Mich. At the same time, IAC plans to move some headliner production to North Carolina, adding to its product mix for automakers in the Southeast. The company also just launched production of an injection-molded energy absorber that costs less than a traditional foam absorber. The product is for the 2008 Nissan Altima coupe. Mann + Hummel sees growth Rhoda Miel rmiel@crain.com New technologies IAC continues to invest in Lear-developed technology for so-called twoshot molding capabilities that it can use at other sites. In two-shot molding, one plastic component is made from two materials in one process. Keppler says the company is looking into the potential of three- and fourshot production. “That’s what manufacturing is at IAC,” he says. “We’ve been able to take the best of the best from a lot of places and bring it under one roof.” c DETROIT — Mann + Hummel Automotive Inc. had a record $120 million in North American sales in 2003. But COO Claude Mathieu set his sights higher. He predicted the company would hit $200 million in sales in 2008. He was right. The U.S. unit of German auto supplier Mann + Hummel GmbH passed that mark a year early — in 2007 — and with $20 million to spare. Despite a slowdown in North American auto production, the Portage, Mich., company continues to grow. A 50,000-square-foot expansion is under way at its plant in Queretaro, Mexico, which opened in 2004, and employees are being trained for a new plant near Bangalore, India. Production there will start this year on injection-molded plastic air-intake manifolds and filtration systems. Mann + Hummel also recently purchased land near Delhi, India, for another plant that will supply automakers in northern India within the next two years. Growth is coming from production in new regions, such as Asia and eastern Europe; the development of new products; and shifting production from established plants to new sites, Wilfried Lehr, managing director of Mann + Hummel’s automotive original-equipment division, said during a press event here last month. Mann + Hummel GmbH reported sales of about $2.5 billion in 2007, a 9.9 percent increase from 2006. The company makes cylinder-head covers, intake manifolds and air and oil filters for automakers and the aftermarket. The current expansion will return blow molding to Mann + Hummel’s portfolio in North America — this time suction blow molding. At one time, the company had standard blow molding at its U.S. operations but phased it out in favor of buying blow-molded parts from other suppliers. The North American offices also will pick up production of some parts now made in Germany for North American customers. Because of the rising value of the euro compared with the U.S. dollar, it makes more sense to transfer work to regions where production is less expensive, Lehr said. When Mann + Hummel began North American production with its acquisition of Geiger Technic Inc. in Portage, vibration-welded thermoplastic air-intake manifolds were still a niche product in the United States. Now they are used throughout the auto industry. Starting in 2009, the company will make a glass-filled nylon oil pan for a passenger car in North America. The only vehicle currently being produced with a thermoplastic oil pan is a commercial tractor-trailer truck. Within two years, Mann + Hummel also will launch production of another new product, a blow-molded “sound pipe” that allows carmakers to alter the sound of their car engines to produce a sporty or more powerful sound. c http://www.totalvehiclefueleconomy.com http://www.ricardo.com http://www.totalvehiclefueleconomy.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - May 12, 2008

Automotive News - May 12, 2008 Factories Punish Rogue Exporters U.S. Firms Sink on Supplier List Clarke: Buyers Don't Know Saturn Brand Greer Takes Top Sales Post At Automotive News Sonic Sues Mercedes-Benz Fiat Ponders Mexico Plant Ford: Wait on Kerkorian Going Green: It's No Longer An Option LaSorda Reaffirms Axle Plant Plan Chrysler: Jeep Seats From India Make Sense Toyota Exec: Maybe It's Time to Raise a Prius Hybrid Gamily Chevy Traverse, Ford Flex Face Off This Year As U.S. Waits, Chrysler Sends Cars Made in China to Mexico Nissan Plans Wide Range of Electric Vehicles Honda: Sales are Flat, But Market Share Soars Kia to Bring Small Car to U.S. Changing Models Yearly Created Object of Desire Fla. Law: Automakers Can't Force Dealer Upgrades Partnership Seeks "Premier" Stores GM Payback for Axle Bailout: Lower Prices, Innovation UAW Vote May Be Nearing a Honda's Alabama Plant Suddenly, Small Was Big in April GM's Big Problem: Too Many Brands Irvin Was Smart, Friendly, Helpful Dealers Are Tuned in to Absorption Figures Dealers Should Sell Alternative Fuels Museum Funding is Bold Watch Your Car-Truck Inventory In Tough Times Dealers Must Coddle Customers Ford's Challenge: Long-term Reliability Nissan N.A. Unit Gets New Head of Communications Maserati North America Taps Luxury-Segment Veteran Eulberg as CEO Former GM PR Chief Joins BMW Nissan: N.A. Off the Hot Seat VW Uses Free Service to Improve Sales, Image Shops Cited For Labor Violations Survey: Consumers Like Indie Shops Report Cites Trends in Repair Costs Aftermarket Center Opens at Mich. College Dealers Mich. Stores Merge Under Project Genesis VW is Europe's Top Seller Honda Exec Red-Flags Detroit 3 Aid Court: Auction Not Liable for Truck Defect Retail Personnel Canada Sales Post 3.8 Percent Gain in April Chrysler Asks Dealers to Donate to Museum Obituaries Complaint Will Delay UAW Revote at JCI Plant Supplier Deals are Smaller, Fewer GM's Truck Inventories Up Despite Strike Profits Up at Superior Industries Autobytel Post $2 MIllion Loss eBay Motors Courts Automakers Ford Touts 6-Speed Transmissions Toyota Raises Some Prices No Pickup for Hyundai, Kia April Output Drops 7.8 Percent Trustee Must Untangle the Chamco Debacle Scientists Say Chysler's Gas Plan is Just a Dodge From Cookie Sales to Auto Dough? In Europe, Small SUVs Soar; GM's Snore Daimler Seems to Be Betting On Peace in Iraq When Soccer Booms, VW Will Be Ready Molder AMP is a Case Study in Auto-Suppliers' Travail Spinoff Dismatles ArvinMeritor Ambitions GKN Driveline to Grow in China Kia Supplier Builds Ga. Plant BorgWarner Adds Turbo Capacity Supplier Personnel Supplier IAC Consolidates Operations and Know-How Mann + Hummel Sees Growth

Automotive News - May 12, 2008

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