Automodular's CEO Michael Finley Lawrence Blair Talks to The Wall Street Transcript

    NEW YORK--Feb. 11, 2002--The Wall Street Transcript has published an in-depth interview with Michael Finley Lawrence Blair, Chairman and CEO of Automodular , in which he talks at length about the company's future.
    The entire 4,400-word interview is available free online at http://www.twst.com/ceos.htm
    Blair gives an overview of the company. "Automodular Corporation began in 1989 when it entered a very specialized field called sequencing. Sequencing is the assembly of modules for the automotive assembly plants in sequence with the final production. What's unusual about the business is that our plants have to be located within a few kilometers of the final assembly plants and receive orders every few seconds. The time between an order -- let's say, to assemble a complete instrument panel or cockpit or radiator support or to dress an engine -- and the time of delivery of the finished part to the final assembly line runs from 90 minutes to two hours."
    Blair explains, "I think our competitive advantage is experience, knowledge and competence. We are an excellent sequencer. We were in the industry early. We have strong quality performance and the managerial skills in those areas. And it's perhaps, of all the automotive areas, the least forgiving."
    Looking forward, Blair states, "We would like to establish ourselves along the lines we have as the preeminent sequencer in North America and to build our company's capability beyond the services we provide to include more of what I'll call Tier-One level services and ultimately, an engineering and design contribution as well, beyond the assembly process. Our plans right now really relate to establishing ourselves in new areas, servicing assembly plants that we don't service today, as well as expanding the services we can provide where we are. So we're looking at all of the car programs coming down the pike, and carefully selecting the ones where we think we can offer our customer a real value and bidding on those."
    This interview is part of a 129-page Investing in Canada Issue available at http://www.twst.com/info/info490.htm or by calling 212/952-7433.
    The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse the views of any interviewees nor does it make stock recommendations. For subscription information call 800/246-7673.