American Axle & Manufacturing Announces New Rear Axle Business With DaimlerChrysler
20 August 1999
American Axle & Manufacturing Announces New Rear Axle Business With DaimlerChrysler
DETROIT, Aug. 19 -- American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc.
announced today that it has been awarded a new contract to supply
a new generation of rear axles to DaimlerChrysler for a six-ton Mercedes
transporter van for model year 2001. This major European automotive contract
represents American Axle & Manufacturing's (AAM's) first major tier-one
contract with DaimlerChrysler.
The axles will be shipped to DaimlerChrysler at a German facility. They
will be shipped from the Glasgow, Scotland facility of Albion Automotive,
AAM's United Kingdom-based driveline subsidiary. Axle production will begin
in June 2000. Details of the sales contract were not disclosed.
American Axle & Manufacturing currently manufactures various forgings used
on DaimlerChrysler vehicles in North America.
David C. Dauch, vice president, Sales, Marketing & Capacity Planning,
explained that the transporter van axle is the first new axle program for
Albion Automotive since AAM acquired Albion in October 1998.
"This new business with DaimlerChrysler is a result of the synergies
between AAM's innovative engineering and worldwide sales organization," he
said. "It is a credit to the leadership of the people in our European
Business Office, which was opened just last year. It is also in line with our
goals of growing globally and diversifying our customer base."
"This new axle program will take advantage of the capability and capacity
of Albion Automotive, and the skill and expertise of our talented Albion
associates," explained Michael D. Straney, AAM's vice president, Europe, who
oversees Albion operations.
"We are delighted to have been selected by DaimlerChrysler as a supplier,"
said Jim Hastie, Albion Automotive's chief executive. "Coming on top of our
established contracts with blue-chip customers such as DAF trucks, Leyland
trucks, Volvo, LDV, Rover, Rolls Royce, Perkins and, more recently, Renault
VI, it demonstrates our continued progress in developing Albion Automotive
into a broadly based internationally competitive components supplier."
Within the last 10 months, AAM has diversified its customer base
significantly, through acquisitions as well as conquest business and the
aggressive pursuit of contracts with new customers. It has also expanded
globally -- from five manufacturing facilities, a Technical Center, and an
Asia Pacific Business Office just 10 months ago to 19 locations, including 16
manufacturing facilities, around the world today.
AAM is a world leader in the manufacture, engineering and design of
driveline systems, chassis systems and forged products for trucks, buses,
sport utility vehicles, and passenger cars. In addition to its many locations
in the United States (in Michigan, New York and Ohio), AAM also has offices
and facilities in Mexico, Japan, England, Germany, and Scotland.
Certain statements contained in this press release which are not
historical facts contain forward-looking information with respect to the
Company's plans, projections or future performance, the occurrence of which
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results
or plans to differ materially from those expected by the Company which include
risk factors described in the Company's prospectuses with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.