Expanding supplier capabilities through consolidation

The pace of consolidation in the automotive industry has slowed somewhat, but its importance has not diminished.

In an ideal merger, one of the few problems a company would face is a consequential surfeit of business opportunities. Just ask Metaldyne Corp. It's precisely that kind of “problem” the company finds itself dealing with (happily) one year after its creation through Heartland Industrial Partners' acquisitions and subsequent merger of MascoTech Inc., Simpson Industries, Inc., and Global Metal Technologies, Inc. (GMTI). Triage is the word Metal dyne's Roy Parrott, Group President-Business Operations, uses to describe the company's response to the situation.

“We're getting more opportunities to bring our talents to bear than we've got horsepower to support them,” Parrott said. “If we have to pass on a few opportunities, so be it.” Walking away from potential business is better than making promises that can't be delivered, he noted.