Faurecia says it will become North America’s number one interior systems supplier with its acquisition of the Saline interior components business, currently operated by Automotive Components Holdings.
Saline, which generates US$1.1bn annual sales, supplies cockpit modules, instrument panels, door panels and centre consoles for 12 vehicle programmes assembled at eight Ford plants throughout North America.
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As well as the Saline acquisition, Faurecia will enter into a new joint venture with Rush Group.
The joint venture, known as Detroit Manufacturing Systems (DMS), will undertake injection moulding, assembly and sequencing of interior trim components from a new facility in Detroit.
Rush Group will hold the majority of the capital and the management of DMS while Faurecia – with 45% of the capital – will bring its technology and manufacturing expertise to the joint-venture.
As a result, the Saline plant will focus in the future on core technologies such as injection moulding, skin manufacturing and foaming operations with annual revenues of nearly US$400m.
With this acquisition, Ford will become Faurecia’s third largest customer, with the supplier saying it will reinforce its position as part of Ford’s Aligned Business Framework (ABF), which it joined in June 2009.
The target date for transitioning the Saline operation is 1 June, 2012. Operations transitioning to the DMS facility will begin transferring this summer.
“The acquisition reinforces our position in interior systems and our global partnership with Ford Motor Company,” said Faurecia chairman and CEO, Yann Dalabriere.
“The Saline business fits with Faurecia’s key priorities, directly tying to our core focus, continuous improvement in operating performance, global customer expansion, technology leadership and strategic growth plans.”
