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MANN+HUMMEL AUTOMOTIVE Launches Their First Plastic Manifold

5 August 1999

MANN+HUMMEL AUTOMOTIVE Launches Their First Plastic Manifold For the North American Market

    PORTAGE, Mich., Aug. 5 -- Just over two years after launching
their North American Operations, MANN+HUMMEL AUTOMOTIVE has kicked-off
production of their first plastic manifold for a North American application.
    The two-piece vibration-welded manifold will appear on Ford's V-10, 6.8L
engines on the 2000 F-series 250, 350 and 450 heavy-duty trucks as well as the
new Excursion sport utility.  The manifold marks the first time plastic has
ever been used for a V-10 application.
    Ford made several modifications to the existing V-10 engine for 2000.
Replacing the aluminum lower intake manifold with a plastic version was among
the improvements.  Ford looked to MANN+HUMMEL to make the switch to plastic,
which enabled Ford to realize an increase in performance, a decrease in noise
and a reduction in the cost of the component.
    The shell-welded manifold, made of PA6-GF 30, is produced at the company's
North American subsidiary and manufacturing facility in Portage, Michigan.
After the part is completed, it is shipped for assembly with the upper
manifold.
    The successful coordination of a global program that required near
simultaneous launches at the company's plants in Brazil and Germany proved to
be the building block for MANN+HUMMEL's latest international expansion.
MANN+HUMMEL was asked to draw upon that experience by transferring their
technology, for the first time, to North America in support of Ford.  The
company's simultaneous engineering process was quickly tested and validated
again on an international level.  The U.S. provided liaison support for
program management, engineering and manufacturing while the prototypes and
tooling were done at affiliated MANN+HUMMEL locations in Germany.  "It took a
genuine international effort to bring the component to production, but to
survive in this industry you have to be able to conduct business
internationally.  We have simply drawn upon our extensive product knowledge
and manufacturing competencies that stem from years of experience," said
MANN+HUMMEL AUTOMOTIVE, Inc. President, James J. Riordan.
    Though relatively fresh to the North American arena, the MANN+HUMMEL Group
is considered a pioneer of intake systems having produced the world's first
thermoplastic intake manifold in 1989 as well as the first plastic active
manifold in both the lost-core and shell-welded process.
    With 1998 sales of approximately $1 billion, the MANN+HUMMEL Group is
organized into two divisions, automotive and industrial.  The automotive
division, which serves the OEM, OES and Aftermarket, manufactures components
ranging from air, oil, fuel and cabin filters, to oil modules, fluid
reservoirs, air cleaners, composite intake manifolds, manifold modules and
complete induction systems.  With 27 manufacturing/sales locations worldwide,
MANN+HUMMEL employs approximately 7,800 people.