Nyloncraft consolidating operations
MISHAWAKA, IND. - Nyloncraft Inc. will close its Bowling Green, Ky., plant by the end of February and spend $2 million to consolidate operations at its Mishawaka facility, creating 45 jobs there.
Nyloncraft, based in Mishawaka, is an automotive supplier and custom injection molder making parts including interior door trim and vacuum distribution systems. The company was created in 2002 out of three plants - in Mishawaka, Bowling Green and Jonesville, Mich. - previously operated by Dura Automotive Systems Inc. The Kentucky plant employs fewer than 100.
Indiana Economic Development Corp. in Indianapolis offered $75,000 in tax credits and up to $75,000 in employee training grants to help the company finance the consolidation in Mishawaka, the state noted in a Dec. 3 news release.
Nyloncraft expects to begin hiring new workers in early 2008.
Bayer adding C&A blends to its catalog
PITTSBURGH - Bayer MaterialScience LLC is making the thermoplastic polyurethane blends first developed by auto supplier Collins & Aikman Corp. available to all molders.
The Pittsburgh-based resin supplier announced it has purchased the intellectual property and patents from the bankrupt and now-closed supplier. C&A at one point had planned to use its proprietary TPU blends to help it restructure and build its business.
Bayer also has its own TPU blends, which it has sold directly to other suppliers, and is adding the Collins & Aikman formulations to its catalog.
Now available through Bayer, the TPUs can be slush molded - which is the preferred method for complex shapes on instrument panels - and directly replace PVC, which was the standard skin material for decades in the auto industry. Automakers also have preferred TPUs for their ability to mimic the look and feel of leather in upscale vehicles. The blends created by C&A do not require painting or post-mold coating, which cuts production costs.
Woman sues ex-Krauss-Maffei executive
COVINGTON, KY. - A former administrative assistant at Krauss-Maffei Corp. in Kentucky has filed a civil lawsuit accusing Josef Märtl, the former top executive of KM's German parent, of sexual assault at the machinery maker's 2006 Christmas party.
Melissa Stevens also named Krauss-Maffei of Florence, Ky., as a defendant in the suit, filed Dec. 8 in U.S. District Court in Covington. She charges that management ``encouraged and tolerated'' its employees to subject her to ``humiliation and sexist remarks,'' to force her to quit.
Krauss-Maffei put her on administrative leave April 6, then fired her June 15.
Märtl left Munich-based parent Krauss Maffei GmbH on July 31 ``by mutual agreement,'' according to a news release the company issued at that time. That ended a 34-year career in which Märtl rose up to chairman of the managing board at one of the world's biggest manufacturers of plastics machinery.
``I have no comment so far,'' said Märtl, contacted in Germany.
The company's German headquarters issued a statement: ``Please appreciate that on principle we are unable to comment on current proceedings, in particular if these relate to former employees of our company.''
Neither the company nor Märtl would say if he was let go because of the allegations.
According to the suit, Stevens told some KM employees about the assault the day it allegedly happened, but decided not to call police ``for fear that a complaint about a senior officer and board member would cause her to be fired.''
She did file a police report April 11, five days after she was put on leave. She is demanding more than $75,000 from each defendant, plus lost wages and punitive damages.
Toyota Auto Body plans first U.S. plant
BALDWYN, MISS. - Toyota Auto Body Co. Ltd. will build its first U.S. plant, in Baldwyn, Miss., producing injection molded plastic and stamped steel parts for Toyota Motor Corp.
The company will operate under the name Auto Parts Manufacturing Mississippi Inc. TAB, based in Kariya, Japan, announced plans for a Mississippi plant earlier but did not specify an exact location.
The company will invest $200 million in the new plant and employ 400. Toyota owns 56 percent of Toyota Auto Body.
