After launching and leading Detroit Manufacturing Systems LLC to $1 billion in sales, Andra Rush has stepped down as CEO and sold her majority share in the Detroit manufacturing company.
The buyer and new CEO is Bruce Smith, the 55-year-old co-owner and CEO of sheet metal tooling maker BTM Co. LLC in Marysville, Mich. A sale price was not disclosed and a spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.
French auto supplier Faurecia SA is the minority investor in Detroit-based DMS through its Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Faurecia Interior Systems Inc.
The company is in the process of planning a 102,000-square-foot plant in Toledo, Ohio, in addition to its Detroit operations..
DMS has in-house injection molding, listing 16 presses on its corporate website, and says it is targeting growth into compression molding and thermoforming in addition to its assembly of interior modules.
In a statement, Rush said she has "a new chapter in my life to pursue" and will work with her successor as the company goes through the transition. The company opened in 2012 as part of a development deal that saw Faurecia take over a former Ford Motor Co. and Visteon Corp. interior parts plant in Saline, Mich., while DMS was created to be a key partner in delivering completed interior parts.
Smith says he has big shoes to fill. The company ranked third on Crain's list of largest minority-owned businesses last year.
"I've spent a number of years in private equity and I'm used to coming into companies that are on their deathbed, so for the first time I feel like I have a tailwind," Smith said in a statement. "My task is to take something great and make it even better."
Smith holds a mechanical engineering degree from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from Harvard University.
Rush maintains her ownership in Rush Group LLC, Dakkota Integrated Systems LLC, Rush Trucking Corp. and Rush Supply Chain Management.
