Chrysler contract boosts French supplier
Bradford Wernle | | Automotive News / November 6, 2006 - 1:00 am
Although Faurecia is the ninth-largest auto supplier in the world, the French conglomerate remains a comparative minnow in North America.
But a big contract with DaimlerChrysler to supply major systems to the 2007 Chrysler Sebring sedan could jump-start Faurecia (pronounced four-SEE-uh) here.
Faurecia supplies the Sebring's front and rear seats, door trim panels, instrument panels, center consoles, front-end modules and exhausts. The Sebring went into production this past summer at the Chrysler group's Sterling Heights, Mich., plant.
Chrysler also hosted design reviews and housed other suppliers at its technical center. To service the contract, Faurecia set up four operations in the Detroit area.
The Sebring contract was one of the most extensive the Chrysler group has given to a supplier.
Overall Faurecia business with DaimlerChrysler in North America will reach about $600 million in 2008, including the Sebring contract and other new business, according to Shannan Triplette, Faurecia group vice president for the Chrysler account.
Said Don Montroy, analyst for CSM Worldwide in Grand Rapids, Mich.: "It's pretty significant for Faurecia. I think they are pretty ambitious, especially on the interior, seat and trim side."
Frank Klegon, executive vice president of product development for the Chrysler group, said the Sebring contract is part of a move to involve interior suppliers in vehicle design.
"We like to have interior suppliers on board at the front of a program," he said. "We're now making them part of our strategic partnership earlier in the program."
In 2003, Faurecia set up an interior design and technical center three miles from Chrysler's Auburn Hills, Mich., tech center. Chrysler hosted engineering and design reviews there instead of at its own tech center, Triplette said.
| Faurecia Headquarters: Nanterre, France 2005 global sales: $14.00 billion 2005 North American sales: $1.54 billion Primary products: Seats, cockpits, doors, acoustic packages, front ends, exhausts Top 5 customers (% of 2005 revenue):
2. VW (22%) 3. Renault-Nissan (14%) 4. Ford (10%) 5. GM (8%) Source: Faurecia |
Setting up shop
"It was easier for them to have all the interior systems in one location," he said. "Chrysler used our facility as an extension of theirs."
Faurecia leased space to other Tier 1 suppliers to the Sebring. They included Lear Corp. (overhead systems), Rieter Automotive North America Inc. (carpets), Cadence Innovations (hard plastic trim) and BBi Enterprises Group Inc. (trunk trim).
"That allowed these suppliers to upload all their mathematical models," Triplette said. "They used our data-exchange network to upload all their math models, as opposed to doing it remotely from their traditional tech centers."
Joe Dehner, chief interior and exterior designer for the Sebring, said the kind of close relationship Chrysler forged with Faurecia "allows you to get design consistency throughout the interior."
It's important to know "how your door is going to interface with my instrument panel," he said. "They had equal ownership of the final product."
North American growth
The JS platform that Chrysler uses for the Sebring is by far Faurecia's highest-revenue North American platform to date. It ranks behind only one major European PSA/Peugeot-Citroen platform and one Volkswagen platform in sales revenue.
Faurecia's first North American Chrysler business came in 2003 when the supplier started making interior components for the PT Cruiser in Toluca, Mexico, including center consoles, door trim panels and instrument panels. Faurecia also has supplied Mercedes-Benz in Europe.
Faurecia is pursuing other Chrysler business. It supplies exhausts and door hardware for the Dodge Nitro SUV and exhausts on the Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot.
Faurecia ranks No. 9 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers with worldwide original-equipment automotive parts sales of $14.00 billion in 2005. It ranks No. 33 the Automotive News list of the top 150 suppliers to North America with North American original-equipment automotive parts sales of $1.54 billion last year.
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