Accuride Increasing North American Capacity and Capabilities With Major Investments in 2011-2012
January 24 2012 - 5:00PM
Business Wire
Accuride Corporation (NYSE: ACW) – a leading supplier of
components to the commercial vehicle industry – today reported that
the company expects to make additional investments of approximately
$75 million in 2012 to strengthen product availability, quality and
reliability; upgrade its manufacturing processes; and improve
customer service. Accuride President and CEO Rick Dauch made the
announcement during a briefing at the 2012 Heavy Duty Aftermarket
Week Conference.
Accuride’s 2012 North American investments support its position
as the leading supplier of steel and aluminum wheels to the
commercial vehicle aftermarket and build upon the company’s $35
million investment in 2011 to increase its aluminum wheel
production capacity.
“Accuride is committed to being a reliable and dependable
supplier of steel and aluminum wheels and wheel-end components for
our OE and aftermarket customers,” said Dauch. “We made solid
progress in boosting our production capacity last year, and are
stepping up our investments to extend and accelerate that progress
throughout 2012. These investment plans further demonstrate our
continuing commitment to improve product quality and ensure
availability to meet growing demand by our customers and the
industry. We won’t be satisfied until Accuride becomes the premier
supplier of wheel-end system solutions to the global commercial
vehicle industry.”
The first phase targets new machining lines and related
equipment in the Wheels business and is already underway. A second
phase involves improvements at Accuride’s Gunite operations.
Aluminum Wheel Expansion
Accuride is aggressively expanding its production capacity as
aluminum wheel demand continues to grow in North America. Accuride
plans $20 million of aluminum wheel capacity investments in 2012
that will include facility improvements, the installation of new
machining lines and equipment, as well as the transfer of equipment
among Accuride’s three aluminum wheel plants in Erie, Pa.; Camden,
S.C.; and Monterrey, Mexico. These actions will optimize material
flow, standardize wheel machining processes, and achieve greater
surface-finish consistency for its aluminum-wheel product
lines.
Once completed, Accuride’s 2012 investments will double the
company’s aluminum wheel production capacity at its Monterrey and
Camden plants. This will bring sufficient aluminum capacity online
this year to meet the peak industry cycle demand expected in
2013-2014. Planned factory-flow improvements will further increase
throughput from the newly-added wheel machining lines, enabling
Accuride to achieve enhanced production performance for
customers.
These 2012 investments build upon Accuride’s significant actions
in 2011 to increase aluminum wheel production, including:
- The June acquisition and re-launch of
its aluminum wheel manufacturing facility in Camden, S.C.;
- The November launch of Accuride’s new
Mega-Line at its Erie plant, which set a new industry benchmark in
process technology; and
- The transfer of an aluminum wheel
machining line to Accuride’s Monterrey plant, which made it
Mexico’s only supplier of both steel and aluminum wheels for
commercial vehicles.
Steel Wheel Improvements
The OEM and aftermarket leader in steel wheels, Accuride’s
Wheels business unit has demonstrated strong service and financial
performance. For 2012, the company will make targeted investments
in machining, equipment, facility upgrades and engineering
initiatives to further improve product and process quality. In
addition, Accuride’s Lean Manufacturing initiatives are further
reducing variation and cycle times.
Future Investments
The second phase of Accuride’s capital investment program, to be
announced later this quarter, targets the Gunite wheel-end business
unit that produces spoke wheels, hubs, rotors, full cast brake
drums and automatic slack adjusters. These investments will address
the production issues and capacity constraints that Gunite
experienced during 2011. The resulting manufacturing improvements
will boost Gunite’s capacity and throughput, and improve product
quality.
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® Wheels,
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.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this news release that are not purely
historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including
statements regarding Accuride’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, and
intentions with respect to future results. Such statements are
subject to the impact on Accuride’s business and prospects
generally of, among other factors, market demand in the commercial
vehicle industry, general economic, business and financing
conditions, labor relations, governmental action, competitor
pricing activity, expense volatility and other risks detailed from
time to time in Accuride’s Securities and Exchange Commission
filings, including those described in Item 1A of Accuride’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010.
Any forward-looking statement reflects only Accuride’s belief at
the time the statement is made. Although Accuride believes that the
expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are
reasonable, it cannot guarantee its future results, levels of
activity, performance or achievements. Except as required by law,
Accuride undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking
statements to reflect events or developments after the date of this
news release.
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