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Recaps $35 million capital investment in 2011 in response to growing
industry demand
EVANSVILLE, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 3, 2012--
Accuride Corporation (NYSE: ACW) – a leading supplier of components to
the commercial vehicle industry – today announced that it significantly
enhanced its aluminum wheel production capacity during 2011 through a
combination of strategic acquisitions, key process technology
investments, and transfers of aluminum wheel machining lines within its
operations. These steps were part of a $35 million strategic initiative
to boost Accuride’s ability to serve the commercial vehicle industry’s
increasing demand for high-quality aluminum wheels.
“Many factors, including fuel economy requirements, residual value and
aesthetics, are driving the growth in aluminum wheel demand in the North
American commercial vehicle industry,” said Rick Dauch, President and
Chief Executive Officer, Accuride. “Accuride is investing to ensure that
we have the right production capacity in place when and where our
customers need it, whether for steel or aluminum wheels. We’re also
raising our standards for product dependability and finish to meet
customers’ ever-increasing expectations.”
In June 2011, Accuride acquired substantially all of the assets of
Forgitron Technologies LLC, including an 80,000-square-foot aluminum
wheel manufacturing facility located in Camden, South Carolina. Accuride
stopped production at Camden during the following month to convert its
production capacity to the Accuride brand standards. Plant manufacturing
systems and controls, as well as customer order management and sales
programs were also integrated into Accuride systems. Now producing
Accuride®-branded aluminum wheels for the commercial vehicle
market, the Camden plant increased Accuride’s aluminum wheel
manufacturing capacity in North America by 21 percent.
In November 2011, Accuride launched its new Mega-Line – one of the
highest-technology aluminum wheel production lines in North America – at
its plant in Erie, Pa. The new Mega-Line employs a fully automated
manufacturing process that uses a centralized, closed-loop system for
chip and coolant management. The line’s eight robots take a forged, spun
and heat-treated raw wheel through the turning, pre-stress, milling,
coining and Rösler surface finishing processes to produce durable,
high-gloss aluminum wheels that are ready for shipment with zero manual
intervention. The Mega-Line established a new industry benchmark in
process technology and boosted Accuride’s total aluminum wheel
manufacturing capacity by another 42 percent.
In response to growing demand in Mexico, Accuride also transferred an
existing manual-process aluminum wheel machining line to Accuride de
Mexico’s 226,000-square-foot Monterrey, Mexico plant during the summer.
The new aluminum wheel line was operating at full capacity in November
2011, establishing Accuride de Mexico as the country’s only
single-source supplier of both steel and aluminum wheels for the local
medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicle market. The capacity expansion
also positioned Accuride closer to its customers’ expanding footprint in
the region.
As part of its aluminum wheel machining investments, Accuride also
installed additional polishing equipment in its Erie and Monterrey
facilities. This new equipment established a higher standard of enhanced
finish for Accuride’s aluminum wheel product portfolio and increased
efficiency and productivity.
According to Scott Hazlett, Senior Vice President and General Manager,
Accuride Wheels, Accuride’s investments were driven by three strategic
objectives:
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Maximizing the use of existing aluminum wheel production and machining
capacity to satisfy customer needs across the company’s market
segments and regions;
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Establishing new capacity in regions where customer assembly plants
are concentrated; and
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Investing in advanced production processes to achieve higher standards
of product quality and finishing for the company’s aluminum wheel
portfolio.
“By strategically managing our existing capacity and investing in key
acquisitions and capacity initiatives, Accuride is fortifying its status
as a leading aluminum wheel supplier to the North American commercial
vehicle industry,” said Hazlett. “Further, with our proven steel wheel
expertise and extensive product portfolio, we’re able to seamlessly
serve as a single-source supplier for our customers’ aluminum and steel
wheel needs.”
“We plan to make further significant capital investments in
manufacturing equipment, products, and process technologies across all
of our core businesses during 2012 and 2013 in order to strengthen the
value and dependability we offer our customers,” Dauch added.
About Accuride Corporation
With headquarters in Evansville, Ind., USA, Accuride Corporation is a
leading supplier of components to the commercial vehicle industry. The
company’s products include commercial vehicle wheels, wheel-end
components and assemblies, truck body and chassis parts, and other
commercial vehicle components. The company’s products are marketed under
its brand names, which include Accuride®, Gunite®,
ImperialTM and BrillionTM. Accuride’s common stock
trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ACW. For
more information, visit the Company’s website at http://www.accuridecorp.com.
Source: Accuride Corporation
Accuride Corporation
Investor Relations: Chad Monroe, 812-962-5041
or
Media
Relations: Timothy G. Weir, APR, 812-962-5128
