Formed through the combination of American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM), GKN Automotive and GKN Powder Metallurgy, the newly branded Dauch Corporation has emerged as a leading player in powertrain manufacturing. Amidst the acquisition and restructuring activity, however, it appears that plans by GKN Powder Metallurgy to build magnet plants in both Europe and North America have fallen into question.
Headquartered in Detroit, Dauch announced on February 3 that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Dowlais Group plc and its subsidiaries – GKN Automotive and GKN Powder Metallurgy. The move followed by only a few days the company’s change of name from American Axle & Manufacturing.
“This is a defining and transformational time for both companies,” said David C. Dauch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “By uniting the capabilities of both organizations under one brand, we’re creating a premier driveline and metal forming supplier serving the global automotive industry that is built to perform—one positioned to meet today’s demands and lead into the next era of propulsion.” Among key executives are Michael J. Lynch – President Driveline and Markus Bannert – President Metal Forming. At the business operations level are Mark Gabriel, President Sideshafts, Propshafts, & ePowertrain and Jean-Marc Dubuis President Powder Metallurgy. Now, the group stands over a powertrain-agnostic product portfolio that supports electric, hybrid and internal combustion vehicles. Its operations span 24 countries and more than 175 locations.
Plans by GKN Powder Metallurgy to expand aggressively into magnet manufacturing, however, appear to have diminished or been dropped — although the company has not issued any comment about this. A dispatch in Reuters reported that the plans for establishing a new magnet plant in Europe have been set aside. As earlier reported in Magnetics Magazine, the company had previously announced its expansion into permanent magnets, planning to build production facilities in Europe and North America. According to the article in Reuters, GKN Powder Metallurgy quietly abandoned plans to build the magnet factory in Europe, in a decision that was made late last year, ahead of the takeover by Dauch. We reached out to Dauch for comment, but have not received a reply. For more info, see www.dauch.com, www.reuters.com.
