JULY 27, 2009 • 16C

Suppliers to the 2009 GMC Yukon Hybrid

Suppliers wanted: If you are a supplier and have questions or want your information considered for our car cutaways, contact Steven Wingett at: automotivenews@supplierbusiness.com

GAS SPRING LIFTGATEStabilus

LEATHERSEATINGEagleOttawa

CONTROL UNIT PRESSUREREGULATORMahle

HYBRID BATTERY INSULATORLydall

ALUMINUMWHEELSuperiorIndustries

LOCKSETSStrattec

RADIO FREQUENCY CONNECTORS Amphenol RF

SIDE DOOR LATCHESInteva

POWER LIFTGATE SYSTEMMagna

WHEELSTUDTaper ProIndustrial

DOOR GLAZINGSaint-Gobain Sekurit

CABINTEMPERATURESENSORJohnson Electric

TIRE PRESSUREMONITORINGSENSORSchrader

ENGINE BEARINGSFederal-Mogul

ENGINE SEALINGFreudenberg

IP SWITCH BANKSMethode Electronics

TORQUE CONVERTERZF

CYLINDER-HEAD GASKETSElringKlinger

MECHANICAL SEALAlfmeier

RADIODelphi

INSTRUMENTPANELSTRUCTUREMultimatic

TRANSMISSION CLUTCHBACKING PLATES, PLANETARY CARRIERSKeystone Powdered Metal

REAR AXLE PINION SUPPORT BEARING

General Bearing

IGNITION COILMitsubishi Electric

AIRBAG ELECTRONICCONTROL UNITContinental

ROOF TOPQUADBANDANTENNALairdTechnologies

AXLE TONE RINGSKF

FUEL CAPStant

SEATSLear

CYLINDER DEACTIVATION MODULEEaton

INSTRUMENT CLUSTERYazaki

VARIABLE CAM TIMING SYSTEMINA

POWERTRAIN COOLING QUICK CONNECT SYSTEMSJiffy-tite

FRONTWASHERNOZZLESBowlesFluidics

UNDERHOOD INSULATORM.A.P. ofEaston

FUEL LINESMartinrea

SIDE CURTAINAIRBAGKey SafetySystems

ELECTROCOATBASF

BRAKEROTORCOATINGMagni

BRAKE BOOSTER CHECKVALVEEdscha

PASSENGERAIRBAG MODULETakata

ELECTRIC POWER STEERINGKoyo

SEALERSika

WASHERSYSTEMKautexTextron

TRANSMISSIONBEARINGSGGB Bearing

REAR AXLEAmerican Axle

JOUNCE BUMPERSVibracoustic

REAR BRAKE PADTaiwan Brake

Technology

REAR BRAKECROSSOVERASSEMBLYFlexitech

STABILIZER BARArvinMeritor

NAVIGATION UNITSouthco

AUTO-DIMMINGMIRRORSGentex

REMOTEKEYLESS ENTRY

Omron

WIRING PROTECTIONSYSTEMDelfingen

Faurecia CEO Yann Delabriere isoptimistic about North America. Hesays the French supplier is poised forgrowth here for three reasons:1. Faurecia recently was added toFord Motor Co.’s list of preferred sup-pliers.2. It has contracts with expanding Eu-ropean transplants such as BMW AGand Volkswagen AG.3. It is in better shape than its rivals.For example, seat maker Lear Corp.recently filed for bankruptcy pro-tection in the United States andCanada.

Delabriere, who took over the com-pany in February2007, also hasseen a positivechange as a resultof the current cri-sis hitting the in-dustry: Suppliersand automakers

are working even closer together tomake it through the tough times.

Delabriere, 58, talked about thesesubjects and more this month duringan interview with Automotive NewsEurope News Editor Douglas A.Bolduc.

President Barack Obama has issuedstiffer rules for vehicle fuel economyand has moved up the deadlines formeeting the new standards. In lightof those moves, have you noticed anychanges in what your North Ameri-can customers are asking of Faure-cia? If so, what are they?

Improving fuel economy is a priori-ty with customers everywhere, start-ing with Europe.

Faurecia can contribute substan-

tially because the easiest and cheap-est way to improve fuel economy is toreduce the weight of the car.

If you combine all our product lines— exhausts, interior parts, front-endmodules and seats — we are respon-sible for about 20 percent of the totalweight of a car.

We are constantly looking for ways

to reduce weight. In some cases wecan propose a weight reduction in anew car of up to 30 kilograms [66pounds].

Are North American automakersasking for this more than in the past?

Yes. In recent meetings and eventssuch as tech days or innovation re-

views with certain U.S. automakers, itis higher on their priority lists than inthe past. There is a stronger interestin weight reduction.

In which areas?It is across all our products. They

are interested in any proposal we canmake on these items.

A lot of small, startup companies areentering the electric-vehicle seg-ment. Are you working with any ofthem? Or do you prefer to stick withproven vehicle makers, such as Nis-san and others, which also are plan-ning electric vehicles?

Given the upfront cost to developseats, exhausts and interiors, there isprobably an issue there. With ourmain clients, we are present in dis-cussions on electric cars.

Assuming you had some compo-nents on the vehicles built at thePSA-Toyota joint venture, did thathelp open any doors for sales to Toy-ota in North America?

Toyota is a key target for Faurecia,but in the segments where Faureciaoperates, Toyota is pretty well inte-grated. It makes most of its instru-ment panels in-house and has akeiretsu partner for seats.

Who are your top four customers inNorth America? Has that list changedin the past two years?

Last year it was two-thirds Detroit 3and one-third Europeans in NorthAmerica, such as VW and BMW. Thismore than likely will change, giventhe issues facing the market thisyear.c

Faurecia CEO is bullish on N. America

LUC PERENOM

Q&A

CEO Yann Delabriere says Faurecia can cut the weight of a new car 66 poundsin some cases. Cutting car weight is a priority for North American automakers.

Magna willbuild seatingplant on formerChrysler siteCanadian supplier landsnew business with GMand Chrysler for 2010

Philip Nusselpnussel@crain.com

Diversified Canadian auto partssupplier Magna International Inc.last week confirmed plans to build aseating systems plant in HighlandPark, Mich., on property once occu-pied by the Chrysler Corp. head-quarters.

Subsidiary Magna Seating plans tobegin production at the plant in May2010 and will supply full seating sys-tems to General Motors Co. andChrysler Group, according to a com-pany statement.

Magna said it expects to create 400full-time jobs at the plant.

The plant will handle new businessfrom GM and Chrysler, according toan e-mail from Magna spokes-woman Tracy Fuerst.

It was not immediately clear whichsuppliers lost the business.

The project has qualified for aMichigan state tax credit valuedat $4.5 million over seven years,the company said in the state-ment.

Magna, of suburban Toronto,ranks No. 4 on the Automotive Newslist of the top 100 global suppliers,with original-equipment automo-tive parts sales of $23.30 billion in2008. c

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