Ford reveals tentative deal to sell Saline ACH plant, Washtenaw County's largest for-profit employer
Automotive Components Holdings' Saline plant — the largest private-sector, for-profit employer in Washtenaw County — would be sold to a French automotive supplier under a tentative deal with Ford Motor Co., the Associated Press is reporting.
Saline's Automotive Components Holdings plant, formerly a Ford and Visteon plant, is the largest for-profit employer in Washtenaw County.
File photo
The 1.6 million-square-foot Saline ACH plant employs more than 2,300 workers and has been operating at full capacity producing interior components for the popular Ford Focus.
But its long-term fate has been unclear since Ford formed ACH in 2005 to shut down or sell 17 former Visteon Corp. plants.
It was not immediately clear Tuesday night how a sale of the East Michigan Avenue plant would affect its 2,300 workers.
ACH spokeswoman Della DiPietro declined to identify the possible buyer but did confirm the existence of a tentative deal.
"Next we begin our negotiations regarding various elements of the proposed transaction, sale of the Saline plant and its business, and we intend to work toward a final agreement as quickly as possible," she told AnnArbor.com this morning.
A representative from the United Auto Workers chapter that represents the Saline workers was not immediately available for comment this morning.
It's unlikely that a buyer would purchase the ACH plant without also securing a deal to continue supplying parts to Ford.
Faurecia had $18.2 billion in sales and 75,676 employees in 2010, according to Yahoo! Finance. European carmakers represent 75 percent of Faurecia's sales, although the company's customers also include Ford and GM.
A sale of the ACH property, which represents about 8 percent to 9 percent of the city of Saline's tax base, would come almost four years years after auto supplier Johnson Controls tentatively agreed to buy the site. But that deal collapsed as the auto crisis intensified.
The plant's 2,000 workers is up from 1,600 employees in early 2009 and 1,350 in November 2007.
From 2005 to 2009, ACH invested $120 million in upgrades at the plant, including new technology and logistical improvements to the manufacturing process. The company was also expected to spend about $32 million in 2010 to upgrade equipment.
The deal comes less than three months after ACH revealed a separate agreement to sell the fuel tank production business housed at its 1.28 million-square-foot Milan plant to French auto supplier Inergy Automotive Systems.
Inergy plans to move the fuel tank production to a a new facility it plans to construct elsewhere in southeast Michigan. Many of the Milan plant's 500 workers will be given the chance to transfer to the new facility, which will be built within three years.
But it also means that the Milan plant will be vacant within three years if ACH fails to find a buyer.
Inergy, a subsidiary of Levallois, France-based Compagnie Plastic Omnium, is leasing the Milan plant until the new facility is ready.
In 2009, ACH sold its Ypsilanti plant to Taylor-based Angstrom USA, which has been renovating the plant and said in February that it was planning to move 250 to 300 workers to the facility.
Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.
Comments
mojo
Mon, Aug 8, 2011 : 8:42 p.m.
When will we know what the French intentions are with the Saline ACH plant? Does it close? Will they move it? Will the City of Saline collect back taxes due to Ford's/ACH's failure to fulfill tax credit agreements that spread over years into the future?
15crown00
Thu, Aug 4, 2011 : 11:19 a.m.
well u can kiss this plant goodbye
David Katz
Wed, Aug 3, 2011 : 3:14 p.m.
I drove by the plant yesterday and was amazed at the full parking lot. I haven't seen that in a while. I've worked for a major corporation owned by the French for 15 years. We have both union and non-union facilities. From my admittedly limited viewpoint it appears that our corporation is run with high standards of safety, integrity and innovation. In other words, they know their business. Best of luck to the Saline plant and I hope it provides safe, progressive jobs to another generation.
Bogie
Wed, Aug 3, 2011 : 12:49 p.m.
My father worked at Ford (not saline) for 37 years, and I always remember him saying this," Ford doesn't owe me a job." There are other factors, that have caused the sale of these parts plants. Be it, the tax code, or union leadership. I do hope that Faurecia keeps operations in Saline, and continues the tax base for our county. I think that the headline says a lot -"Largest For Profit Employer." Atleast Ford sold the operation, and did not just outsource.
Bones
Wed, Aug 3, 2011 : 8:40 p.m.
Selling to Faurecia is outsourcing. They will part that plant out and send the work wherever. It is a French owned company that can and will ship work to wherever they want. They do not want the building. They want certain content from it. Which means that they can buy the work and equipment from Saline and move it anywhere in the world or where ever they desire.
stunhsif
Wed, Aug 3, 2011 : 12:02 p.m.
@Bones, The ACH Saline plant does have some Tier 2 workers employed at $14 dollars per hour but the vast majority are Ford employees under Tier 1 union rules and make appx $28 dollars an hour plus full union benefits. You can also bet your bottom dollar that they will not close this plant as it is very close to plants that assemble the Focus, Mustang and F150. Ford just invested 120 million in this plant which helps make it a desirable location as well. They assemble complete dashboard's for more than the Focus. They also do the F150,Ranger,Mustang,Fusion,Flex,Crown Vic, and the entire Lincoln lineup. This plant will change ownership but it will not close. It will be interesting to see what they do with the union emplyees though.
Bill
Fri, Aug 5, 2011 : 2:53 p.m.
They will make the dashboards in part of the Wayne plant.
Red Barber
Wed, Aug 3, 2011 : 11:23 p.m.
Bones, My use of the phrase "long-term supplemental" was not meant to be disparaging (in case that's how you took it). It's the company's terminology, not mine. I am aware that the folks who are working as temps are in limbo. I hope that you're mistaken about Faurecia's intent to send work elsewhere; and instead the temps are offered permanent full-time employment. Unfortunately, I suspect that you may be correct. This article indicates that there may be some truth to the rumors you've heard about the Focus I.P. going to Wayne: <a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20110714/BUSINESS0102/107140528/Ford-may-hire-400-Wayne-plant" rel='nofollow'>http://www.freep.com/article/20110714/BUSINESS0102/107140528/Ford-may-hire-400-Wayne-plant</a>
Bones
Wed, Aug 3, 2011 : 8:37 p.m.
I have worked in that building for just shy of 23 years now. I did do a small stint at Dearborn when JCI was supposed to be buying it. Visteon was owned by Ford at the onset of the spin off. They then took over when they failed under a LLC called ACH. The supplemental employees as you Call them Red are there. They are good people doing what they can under a tough and uncertain situation. Faurecia will not pay them what the higher senoirty orange workers as they are called will make. If they keep them at all they will take a hit in pay and benefits. Faurecia is no different than the company that bought Milan in one respect. They will part out the content that they buy. The rest will be outsourced. Although I did hear rumors that Wayne is going to take the Focus I.P. and keep that in house. A lot of people will no longer be employed. Saline will lose tax revenue. And the rest will be history.
Red Barber
Wed, Aug 3, 2011 : 1:29 p.m.
It's my understanding that the vast majority at Saline are "long-term supplemental" employees, not traditional tier-one employees. Company-wide, Ford has only hired around one hundred tier-two employees. At any rate, I'm pretty sure that fewer than half of the hourly employees at Saline are tier-one. Perhaps Mr. Bomey could confirm one way or the other.
Bones
Wed, Aug 3, 2011 : 6:28 a.m.
If this sale to Faurecia goes through. You can bet your bottom dollar they will send the work out just like in Milan and close the doors on the building. It is what these corporations do. They will not want to take all of the employees either. And they top out at 14 a hour from what I hear. This is a bad deal for Ford and the City of Saline. Not to mention all of the workers there. Mullaly should be proud as he gets paid even more from the sale of this plant.
Stephen Landes
Wed, Aug 3, 2011 : 6:23 p.m.
I've spent some time studying Faurecia and have been impressed with the company and the quality of their work. Let's not just assume what they will do or what the outcome will be because some people have had a bad experience.
WhyCan'tWeBeFriends
Wed, Aug 3, 2011 : 6:26 a.m.
Ford/Visteon has been trying to sell this facility since at least 2008 when my husband had some knowledge, prior to his corporate layoff after 20+ years of excellent service. Glad to hear they upgraded the facility since then - it was a major obstacle of sale, so we heard. Maybe jobs will be saved now. One can only hope. He's on his fourth job since then, but we are still in Michigan trying to keep the economy alive, to our financial detriment. I once had a business owner thank me for staying in the state - pretty telling, right?