Johnson Controls, the second-biggest US maker of interior parts for cars and trucks, may buy a Visteon Corporation seat factory in Michigan to gain more business from Ford, sources told Bloomberg News on Thursday.
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Bloomberg said the plant, which employs 1,400 workers in Chesterfield Township north of Detroit, makes seats for Ford’s Mustang sports cars and its Expedition and Navigator sport utility vehicles, along with seat covers for the Ford Focus and Lincoln Town Car.
The news agency said Johnson Controls, whose profit rose 26% last year because of increased demand for its vehicle interiors, lags behind Lear Corporation in the market for car seats, and added that Johnson Controls CEO John Barth declined to answer questions from analysts on a conference call about whether his company would buy the Visteon plant.
According to Bloomberg, Visteon has said it is evaluating the possibility of partnerships, sales or closings for several of its businesses with $US2.5 billion in annual revenue, including the seats unit.
