2017 Year in review: Auto makers stay active in busy year

What the future holds for the automotive industry is anyone's guess, but it's a safe bet that electric vehicles aren't going anywhere and fully automated cars aren't far from being a reality. Suppliers and original equipment manufacturers have a golden opportunity to build the next generation of mobility, and some of them aren't waiting around.

Federal-Mogul goes private

Carl Icahn generally gets what he wants, and he wanted all of Federal-Mogul Corp.

The billionaire investor completed his acquisition for the remaining stock of the Southfield, Mich.-based automotive supplier for about $300 million. Subsequently, the company was de-listed from the NASDAQ Global Select Market exchange.

The deal ended Icahn's year-long quest to acquire Federal-Mogul, gradually upping his offer to $10 per share in January, up from $7 per share in February 2016. Combined with Icahn Enterprises L.P.'s $1.03 billion acquisition of auto parts retail chain Pep Boys in 2015, many experts believe Icahn plans to use the parts retailer as a machine for Federal-Mogul parts. Some fear this plan will hurt the company in the long term.

Cooper Standard keeps growing

Cooper Standard Automotive Inc. has not shied away from making investments, and 2017 was no different.

The global automotive rubber components supplier continued to make China a priority, opening a test and prototype center in Shanghai to support the Asia-Pacific region, an investment of $5.8 million that will create about 100 engineering jobs.

But the U.S. was not neglected, Cooper Standard invested $1 million for additional manufacturing at its Surgoinsville, Tenn., coolant tube and facility.

It also opened a new Global Innovation Center in Livonia, Mich., designed to streamline innovation and enhance its focus on material science development. Some of its new innovations, like its Fortrex compound that combines the best of EPDM and thermoplastic vulcanizates, already are paying dividends, as the firm is setting the foundation to make plays outside of the automotive arena with its Industrial Specialty Group.

Currently, the unit only accounts for about 5 percent of its overall sales, automotive making up the rest, but Chief Operating Officer Keith Stephenson said the company is committed to growing the unit substantially.

Fukoku moves up a tier

Laurens, S.C.-based Fukoku America is making its first venture into Tier 1 automotive supplier territory.

Thanks to new business from several companies, including a 2018 contract to directly supply Honda rubber-produced pulley seals, the firm is investing $13.9 million to add 30 new machines and 65 jobs through 2019.

Traditionally, the firm has been a Tier 2 supplier to a number of Tier 1 automotive companies. Fukoku is seeing business rise across many of its other product lines as well, but the Honda contract is a big step for a supplier trying to grow in the competitive U.S. automotive environment.

Price-fixing cases settled

Two major tire makers, hopefully, put price-fixing cases involving their non-tire/automotive units behind them.

Bridgestone Corp. and Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. paid a combined $75.1 million in fines to settle allegations that they fixed prices and rigged bids in the late 1990s and early 2000s on automotive anti-vibration parts.

Bridgestone will pay $29.6 million and Toyo $36.1 million to settle a multidistrict litigation suit against them and four other Japanese automotive suppliers by a group of end-payor plaintiffs, identifying 58 and naming "all others similarly situated."

The other four defendants identified in the suit were: Yamashita Rubber Co. Ltd., Yusa Corp., Tokai Rubber Industries Ltd. and DTR Industries Inc.

In a separate settlement, Bridgestone also will pay an additional $9.36 million to auto dealers who claim the company conspired to rig bids, fix prices and allocate markets for rubber anti-vibration parts.