Ford sells auto-parts recycler to former part-owners

December 11, 2002; Bill Koenig writing for Bloomberg reported that Ford Motor Co., which is shedding units that aren't related to making cars and trucks, sold a Canadian auto-parts recycling business back to the brothers who originally owned part of it.

Neither Ford nor the brothers, Philippe and Roger Fugere Jr., would disclose the price paid for GreenLeaf Canada, which has annual sales of C$42 million ($27 million) and 170 employees. The sale, completed Dec. 2, "is in keeping with our back-to-basics" plan, Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans said.

Ford, which had a loss of $5.45 billion last year, has been selling subsidiaries since Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William Clay Ford Jr. ousted former CEO Jacques Nasser in October 2001. The world's second-largest automaker is abandoning Nasser's strategy of diversifying beyond making cars and trucks.

GreenLeaf "wasn't part of their plan anymore," Roger Fugere said in an interview.

Ford bought Lecavalier Auto Parts, which had two recycling centers outside of Montreal, from the Fugeres in November 2000. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker purchased two other recycling centers in Ontario the same year.

The Fugeres bought all four centers and will operate them under the name Lecavalier Auto Parts. No job cuts are planned, Roger Fugere said.

The Canadian operations sold by Ford were separate from GreenLeaf LLC, a U.S.-based auto recycler that Ford has put up for sale, Evans said.