Nexteer Automotive, a global tier one automotive supplier committed exclusively to wheel-to-wheel advanced steering and driveline systems, today announced it will establish its global headquarters in the greater Detroit area.
“Establishing a stand-alone global headquarters in the greater Detroit area demonstrates our commitment to the state of Michigan and provides us with a strong platform for long term success,” said Laurent Bresson, president and global COO. “Having our top leadership, global management and functional staff closer to customers, industry leadership and decision makers will be an asset as we continue to grow both in North America and in our operations around the globe.”
According to MICHauto, a key economic development initiative of the Detroit Regional Chamber, dedicated to promoting, retaining and growing the automotive industry in Michigan, seven OEMs have their global or North American R&D headquarters in the greater Detroit area. In addition, 60 of the top 100 automotive suppliers to North America are headquartered in the region.
Nexteer plans to announce its formal plans for a move in 2016 following the completion of a location and business assessment that is currently underway. The new headquarters will house approximately 150 individuals and will include a mix of current Nexteer employees and new recruits.
“Nexteer’s Global Engineering Center and Saginaw Division will remain at the Saginaw site and will continue to operate as the global centers of technical innovation and manufacturing excellence, respectively,” added Bresson.
The company is focused on continuing to expand its engineering team in Saginaw and plans to hire at least 65 new employees throughout 2015, in addition to the nearly 90 engineers the company added in 2014.
Since 2010 Nexteer has invested over $840 million globally to support growing customer demands and new programs, of which $400 million has been spent in the U.S. Nexteer has over 50 customers, including 10 out of the top 12 global OEMs, and it continues to diversify its customer base and expand its market reach.
“We’ve been able to secure an unprecedented $9 billion backlog of customer bookings, which shows that the market is responding very favorably to our globalization efforts, unrivaled EPS technology and product portfolio,” added Bresson.
