APMA Top 10 automotive news stories in 2014

10. Canada’s outstanding CEO of the year: Magna’s Donald Walker leads auto parts maker to the top
Financial Post
From Nov. 6, 2014: Donald Walker wants Magna International Inc. to be the best manufacturer in the world. Not the best auto-parts maker, but the best manufacturer period. It sounds like one of those far-fetched mantras uttered by an overly ambitious executive, but the CEO of the Canadian auto-parts maker is serious.

9. Ontario manufacturers at a disadvantage
Blackburn News
From May 1, 2014: The federal government is pushing foreign countries to meet our safety and environmental standards in an effort to make Canada’s manufacturing sector more competitive. That’s one of the messages from Gary Goodyear, the minister of state for the federal economic development agency for southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). He’s in Windsor, ON, for the 47th annual Manufacturing Systems Conference at the university.

8. Chrysler pulls financing requests to Ottawa, Ontario amid turmoil
Canadian Manufacturing
From March 6, 2014: Chrysler said it has withdrawn financial assistance requests submitted to the federal and Ontario governments due to the political implications they have had in recent weeks. “It is clear to us that our projects are now being used as a political football, a process that, in our view, apart from being unnecessary and ill-advised, will ultimately not be to the benefit of Chrysler,” Chrysler said in a statement released.

7. Auto jobs in Canada in ‘pretty steep hole right now’
Global News
From May 15, 2014: Canadian auto parts giant Magna said it has scrapped plans for another plant here. The decision is another blow to a sector that has seen more than its fair share in recent years, while experts say the outook for the still major source of jobs and employment in this country is anything but clear.

6. Mayors go to bat to secure auto industry
Inside Halton
From May 29, 2014: An open letter from the Auto Mayors of Ontario, a group of 17 mayors with auto industry plants in their jurisdictions. Ontario’s Auto Mayors will be holding a Future of Auto Manufacturer Economy Summit. This summit will focus on how we attract automotive investment in Ontario to ensure a competitive and sustainable Ontario automotive industry.

5. Local auto suppliers urged to invest in Mexico
Windsor Star
From March 6, 2014: The region’s mould, tool and die industry was urged Wednesday to set up operations in Mexico to support that country’s fast-growing auto industry. “We have a tremendous need for local tool manufacturers,” Ignacio Altamirano, purchasing director at Nissan Americas, told the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association’s regional conference in Windsor, ON.

4. Magna: No new plants for Canada, cites Ontario energy costs
Toronto Star
From May 15, 2014: Magna International Inc. says it has no plans to open any new plants in Canada despite a lower dollar, chief executive officer Don Walker says. The nearly 10 per cent decline in the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. greenback has helped make the Aurora-based global auto parts supplier more cost competitive, Walker told the company’s annual general meeting.

3. Toronto-based auto supplier sells Tennesee plant
Canadian Manufacturing
From April 24, 2014: Toronto-based global automotive parts manufacturing company ABC Group Inc., has sold its ABC Group Fuel Systems Inc. subsidiary in Gallatin, Tenn. The plant, which makes blow-moulded, co-extruded and injection moulded fuel tanks and transfer systems, was bought by Rongshi International Holding Company Ltd. for an undisclosed amount.

2. Ford is making a huge bet that could transform the auto industry
Business Insider
From Sept. 18, 2014: There’s widespread and justifiable concern over a dearth of great ideas, risky innovation, and progressive advances being produced by corporate America. Apps and widgets don’t have the impact of electricity, steam, or the PC. But right now, a storied American corporation is embarking on a huge, all-in, Cortés-burning-the-ships gamble. And it could have a significant impact on the industry that is both America’s largest manufacturing sector and its largest retailing sector: Autos.

1. Auto parts maker Martinrea names industry executive Pat D’Eramo as new CEO
Yahoo! News via The Canadian Press
From Oct. 23, 2014: Auto parts maker Martinrea International Inc. has announced the appointment of longtime industry executive Pat D’Eramo as its next president and CEO. D’Eramo will join the company Nov. 1, replacing current present and chief executive Nick Orlando.