ThyssenKrupp Budd Company Sells Plastics Operations to Continental Structural Plastics

TROY, Mich., July 19 -- ThyssenKrupp Budd Company, a leading supplier to the automotive industry, today announced the sale of its plastics materials manufacturing and molding operations to Continental Structural Plastics of Bingham Farms, MI. Sale price was not disclosed.

Included in the divestiture are ThyssenKrupp Budd facilities in the Ohio cities of Carey, North Baltimore and Van Wert, as well as a plant in Tijuana, Mexico. Approximately 1,120 people are employed at the affected operations.

According to ThyssenKrupp Budd officials, the sale of the plastics operations is in line with the restructuring plans ThyssenKrupp Automotive AG has announced for its automotive segment in North America.

The Carey, North Baltimore and Tijuana facilities make sheet molding composite (SMC) autobody panels and pickup boxes for the automotive industry. The Van Wert facility produces raw SMC material for the ThyssenKrupp Budd molding facilities and other industrial customers.

Continental Structural Plastics, founded in 1982, manufactures structural plastic components, bumper beam reinforcements, rocker covers, oil pans, stamped steel seat frames and underbody shields. The company operates three manufacturing plants in Petoskey, Mich., Sarepta, La., and Conneaut, Ohio, in addition to its headquarters, sales and marketing office in Bingham Farms.

ThyssenKrupp Budd currently supplies approximately 100 vehicle models with sheet metal stampings and assemblies, composite autobody panels and pickup boxes, chassis modules and subframes, bumpers and bumper reinforcements. ThyssenKrupp Budd operates 28 facilities with more than 9,000 employees in North America.