Plastech Engineered Products

Plastech Engineered Products

Type	Private
Industry	Automotive Supply
Founded	1988
Headquarters	Dearborn, Michigan; manufacturing facilities in 9 U.S. states
Key people	Julie Brown CEO
Products	Automobile Components and systems
Number of employees	7600
Website	http://plastecheng.com/

Plastech Engineered Products was a tier-1 automobile supplier headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan. It was long the largest woman-owned company in the state of Michigan.^[1] Plastech started in 1988 with the purchase of a single injection molding facility in Caro, Michigan. Since then the company has grown rapidly through a mixture of organic growth and acquisitions, the most notable of the latter being the purchase of United Screw and Bolt in 1997 and LDM Technologies in 2004.^[2] In 2007 Plastech took over four plants and sales of US$700 million from Johnson Controls, bringing annual sales to US $1.7 billion.^[3] Plastech's customers include General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler, and Johnson Controls.^[4]

Plastech Engineered Products filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on February 1, 2008, following a dispute with Chrysler, its fourth largest customer. Douglas Doran, Chrysler’s director of interior procurement, said Plastech’s quality issues were far worse than the typical supplier. He stated that those quality issues, coupled with Plastech’s continued financial needs, led Chrysler to cancel its contracts. The firm was having trouble paying suppliers and had violated agreements with its lenders. General Motors, Ford, and Johnson Controls all publicly supported Chrysler’s position against Plastech.^[5] The firm was later liquidated, with major assets being sold to Johnson Controls. Both Chrysler and General Motors would themselves file for bankruptcy in 2009, after receiving large government-backed loans that were completely paid back in full with interest.

Locations

Plastech employed 7,600 people in 31 manufacturing facilities, 2 corporate locations and a Technical Center North America:

Alabama

• McCalla, AL

Illinois

• Chicago

Indiana

• Elwood, IN
• Kendallville, IN

Kentucky

• Louisville, KY x2
• Owensboro, Kentucky

Louisiana

• Shreveport, LA closed due to bankruptcy

Michigan

• Auburn Hills, MI (Corp.)
• Auburn Hills, MI (Tech. Center)
• Caro, MI
• Clarkston, MI
• Croswell, MI
• Dearborn, MI (Corp.)
• Fowlerville, MI
• Grandville, MI
• Hartland, MI
• Kentwood, MI x2
• Lansing, MI
• Monroe, MI x2
• Port Huron, MI
• Romulus, MI x2

Ohio

• Andover, OH
• Brooklyn, OH
• Bryan, OH
• Byesville, OHClosed/ More than 450 jobs lost
• Cleveland, OH
• Moraine, OH
• Strongsville, OH
• Wauseon, OH

Tennessee

• Franklin, TN closed August 2008
• Kenton, TN closed due to bankruptcy

• Workmen dismantling plastic injection molding machines to be sold as scrap metal at the closed Plastech plant in Franklin, TN; June 2009
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^[6]

Website

• Plastech's Official Website

References

1. ↑ "Largest Women Owned Businesses" (PDF). Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved June 19, 2007. 
2. ↑ "Plastech in Deal For United Screw". The New York Times. February 4, 1997. Retrieved April 19, 2006. 
3. ↑ "Plastech To Take Over Holland JCI Plant". WZZM. Retrieved June 10, 2007. 
4. ↑ "Martens Streses Plastech's Flexibility, Framework" (PDF). Plastics News. Retrieved April 19, 2006. 
5. ↑ "Ford, GM and JCI support Chrysler in Plastech dispute". Automotive News. Retrieved February 13, 2008. 
6. ↑ "Plastech's Official Website". Plastech Engineered Products. Retrieved April 19, 2006.