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Mexican Industries Announces Joint Venture With Collins & Aikman; Companies Partner to Build New Product Line for GM

12 September 1997

Mexican Industries Announces Joint Venture With Collins & Aikman; Companies Partner to Build New Product Line for GM

    DETROIT, Sept. 11 -- Mexican Industries, a minority-owned
business located in Detroit's Empowerment Zone, announced today that it has
entered into a joint venture with Collins & Aikman's Manchester Plastics, a
Detroit-based automotive interior plastic trim business.  The two will make
instrument panels for General Motors.
    "This joint venture is exciting because of the expertise and experience
that both companies bring to the table," said D. Michael Weston, President of
Manchester Plastics.  "In addition we are very pleased to be a part of the
growing opportunities in Detroit's Empowerment Zone by entering this joint
venture and bringing new jobs to the inner city.
    Under the new joint venture agreement, the two companies will form a new
company called Aguirre & Manchester Plastics, LLC and begin operating in the
Fall of 1998.  The joint venture company is expected to yield $66 million in
sales annually.
    "We are very pleased about this new venture with Manchester Plastics,"
said James Merkhofer, Mexican Industries President.  "This operation means a
new product line and a new area of expertise for Mexican Industries -- one
that we hope will expand to include other business opportunities.  This
operation is a direct result of General Motors' commitment to the city of
Detroit and the Empowerment Zone."
    "We look forward to breaking ground on this important new partnership that
will benefit the Hispanic community in Southwest Detroit," said Pam Aguirre,
Mexican Industries Chairman of the Board and CEO.
    "This joint venture is a reflection of General Motors and Collins &
Aikman's long-standing relationship and joint commitment to the communities in
which we operate," said Thomas E. Hannah, Chief Executive Officer of Collins &
Aikman.  "General Motors has consistently sought out relationships with
minority companies, and we are proud to be a part of their vision for Detroit
and the Empowerment Zone by working with Mexican Industries on this product
line."
    Mexican Industries is a minority-owned, family-run automotive supplier of
leather wrapped steering wheels, driver and passenger side air bags, tire
covers, consoles, arm rests and other automotive soft trim products.
    The company, in Southwest Detroit, has 8 plants and employs 1,500 people,
most of whom are Hispanic.
    Collins & Aikman Corporation is a global supplier of automotive interior
systems, including textile and plastic trim, acoustics and convertible top
systems.  Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, the company's recent acquisitions of
JPS Automotive and Perstorp Components significantly expanded Collins &
Aikman's product offering and international presence to include additional
operations in the U.S, Mexico, Spain, Canada, Sweden, Belgium, France and the
U.K.  The company employs more than 13,000 and operates 56 manufacturing
facilities in 8 countries.

SOURCE  Mexican Industries