TPT July 2007

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From the AmericaS
84 July /August 2007
its share of metal content in North American autos from 80lbs in
1973 to 327lbs last year.
Despite talk of a DaimlerChrysler split,
Chrysler plans two new plants for Michigan
The Chrysler Group on April 18 said it would invest $1.43 billion
to build two plants in Michigan to make parts for Chrysler and
Mercedes vehicles. The axle and engine plants would be the
largest components of a Chrysler plan for southeast Michigan
that includes modernizing two assembly plants in suburban
Detroit.
The timing of the announcement was notable. Even as Chrysler’s
chief executive, Thomas W. LaSorda, said that construction on the
new plants would begin soon, the company’s German-American
parent, DaimlerChrysler, was possibly on the verge of splitting up.
While discussions with potential bidders for Chrysler were said to
be moving slowly, DaimlerChrysler pointedly said a sale was among
the options it was keeping open.
Another curiosity is the support for the new factories – an engine
plant southwest of Detroit and an axle plant northeast of the city
– by the United Automobile Workers.
The plants are expected to employ about 1,815 fewer union
members than the aging (one was built in 1917) and inefficient
facilities they will replace.
If the union support reflects a new pragmatism in the labour
movement in the US, the project suggests a possibly unfounded
optimism among Chrysler management, struggling to bring the
company back from $1.5 billion in losses last year. A new owner
could cancel the plans for the plants.
One person whose response is unambiguously positive, despite
the net loss of jobs, is Michigan’s governor, Jennifer M Granholm.
She noted that Chrysler’s plans for the two new plants would mean
the largest investment in the state by a single company since she
was elected five years ago.
In brief . . .
• The Canadian auto parts maker Magna International (Aurora,
Ontario) was reported on May 2 to be in talks with auto unions
in Canada and the US about adding Magna’s huge workforce
to their ranks. After Delphi (Troy, Michigan), Magna is the
largest auto parts maker in North America, and offers wages
and benefits comparable to those in unionized factories. But
the family-owned company – whose 50,350 manufacturing
employees in Canada, US, and Mexico also assemble cars for
several European manufacturers – has permitted unions in only
a few of its plants. The agreement under consideration would
reportedly combine the Canadian Auto Workers with the United
Automobile Workers, of the US, and cover all their workers in
both countries.
BUTTWELD FITTING SPECIALIST FROM CHINA
Product Range Specifications
Elbows – LR SR 45 90 ASME B16.9
Return Bends – LR SR 180 MSS-SP43 SP75
Tees – Straight & Reducing ASTM A403 304 304L 316 316L
Reducers – Con & Eccentric ASTM A234 WPB WP11-22-9-91
Stub Ends – MSS TYPE-A & B ASTM A420 WPL6
Stub Ends – ASME Long ASTM A815 S32205 S32750
End Caps JIS B2311 2312 2313
Sch5S – XXS DIN 2605 2615 2616 2617
½” ~48”, ¾”X½” ~ 48”X24” EN 10253-1
Inspections
RT UT MT PT IGC PMI
Hardness, Tensile
Bending, Flattening, Flaring
Impact, Hydrostatic Test CRN
Spectro-analysis
Zibo Wel-Fit Metal Products Co Ltd
No 18, Lushan Road, Linzi, Zibo, P.R.China Zip 255418
Sales Tel: +86 532 83876693/83886584
Sales Fax: +86 532 83885554
e-mail: