Integration is the key to Metaldyne's growth

摘要

Automotive supplier targets sales of 3 billion dollars within three years. Ready-to-assemble powder-forged connecting rods are the latest example of expanded in-house manufacturing capabilities. At a time when the auto industry is baling out of the manufacturing business supplier heavyweight Metaldyne has embarked on a vertical integration campaign to become a one-stop shopping center for engine, transmission and driveline parts and assemblies, and chassis components. Created nearly three years ago through a union of Mascotech, Simpson Industries and Global Metal Technologies (GMTI), the Plymouth, Michigan-based company is a powerhouse in powertrain. It claims supremacy in the volume of differential gears produced in North America, and GMTI, its aluminum die casting division, holds a 75-percent market share of North American automatic transmission valve bodies. Sales in 2002 were 1.5 billion dollars, and are projected to be roughly 2 billion dollars this year. Based on new business bookings, the company expects to be a 3-billion dollars enterprise by 2006.