Aluminum die caster wins Ford work, will invest $18M

摘要

J.L. French Automotive Castings Inc. plans to invest more than $18 million in its Sheboygan, Wis., plant to support new business from Ford Motor Co. The company will produce the case for Ford's new sixspeed front-wheel-drive (FWD) transmission and related converter housing. The products will be mated to Ford's new inline 4-cylinder engines. The transmission will be used in vehicles like the Escape, Fusion, Edge and Explorer. Production of the parts will start this June and will likely ramp up to 700,000 units per year by 2013. The transmission represents about 30 percent of all transmissions to be produced at Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford.