Ford Motor Company and Automotive Components Holdings (ACH) today announced it would sell its interior trim business to Faurecia, the world’s sixth-largest automotive supplier.
ACH was formed in 2005 to sell or close 23 former Visteon plants. The sale of the Saline, Michigan plant is expected to close in June. Nearly all of the 2,100 mostly UAW employees at the business have been offered employment, Ford said in a statement.
The deal includes the formation of a new joint venture, Detroit Manufacturing Systems (DMS), between Faurecia and Rush Group Ltd. DMS will do injection molding, and of interior trim parts. About 500 people are expected to be employed at the DMS facility in Detroit. The Saline plant will focus on core technologies such as injection molding, skin manufacturing and foam operations.
“Ford also is proud to play a role in helping to revitalize Detroit at this critical time for the city,” said Tony Brown, group vice president, Ford Global Purchasing.
After completion of this sale, ACH will have only two remaining operations: The climate control business at its Sheldon Road plant and the lighting business at its Sandusky, Ohio, plant.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
