Rockwell to Expand Automotive Division : Technology: The company will invest $1 billion over the next five years in the Michigan-based operation.
Rockwell International Corp. will invest $1 billion in its automotive parts manufacturing business over the next five years, the company announced Wednesday in Detroit.
The investment matches the amount that the Seal Beach-based diversified technology company poured into its automotive parts business over the past five years.
“We are very serious about growing our automotive business and to being a truly global supplier to automotive manufacturers and customers,” Donald R. Beall, Rockwell chief executive, said in a statement.
Rockwell officials project that they will expand the division’s sales from $2.3 billion, or 20% of the corporation’s $11.9 billion in total sales in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, to $3 billion by 1996.
The company’s automotive operations span a wide range of products. Based in Troy, Mich., the division operates 56 plants in 17 countries and employs about 17,500 people. The products range from heavy-duty truck parts to car sunroofs.
Expansions underway include an overhaul at the company’s Brighton, Mich., plant, where Rockwell has orders to build 36,000 sunroofs a year for Mazda and 40,000 sunroofs a year for Volkswagen.
Beall did not detail how the $1 billion would be spent, but a spokeswoman said plant expansions and additional hiring were possible. Rockwell employs about 8,400 people in Orange County.
The corporation has a defense electronics unit in Anaheim, where it builds missile guidance systems, and its corporate headquarters and a “Star Wars” research facility are in Seal Beach.
In the past several years, Rockwell has expanded aggressively into European and Pacific Rim markets. About 58% of the automotive division’s revenue comes from outside North America, said Ronald Roudebush, president of the division.
In July, Rockwell signed a deal with the government of Czechoslovakia to manufacture window and seat parts for customers throughout Europe. The company also opened an office in Moscow to pursue opportunities in production of truck axles and brakes.
