International Automotive Components

About International Automotive Components

International Automotive Components Group North America, doing business as IAC North America, designs and produces automobile consoles, instrument panels, interior trim engineered for storage and safety (side airbags and sensors), exterior trim, door panels, and flooring. Its customers include major auto OEMs such as Ford, GM, Honda, Toyota, and Volkswagen. IAC North America operates more than 30 manufacturing facilities across Canada, Mexico, and the US and is part of IAC Group. Despite the collapse in the auto industry, IAC North America has focused on minimizing the impact of failing sub-suppliers by making its own parts. It has also managed to pick up business from bankrupt competitors and expand its interior products portfolio via underpriced, overlooked business acquisitions. In September 2011 it partnered with Reyes Holdings, LLP to form Reyes Automotive Group, a joint venture in San Antonio that supplies injection and blow-molded interior trim components and assembly services to Toyota's truck plant. Reyes Holdings, LLP owns 51% of the JV; IAC has a 49% stake. The year before it made two acquisitions that expanded its US footprint to Alabama and South Carolina. In November 2010 it bought AMPRO Molding, LLC, which has a 157,000-sq.-ft. plant in Alabama that supplies automotive interior parts to Honda, Hyundai, and Mercedes-Benz. Earlier in the year it bought South Carolina-based flooring and acoustics maker and supplier Stankiewicz International Corporation, while IAC Group took parent Stankiewicz GmbH's European operations. In 2009 IAC North America netted equipment from failed Tier 1 suppliers, smoothing the way for auto OEMs to shift to IAC plants. IAC North America evolved from Lear Corporation's sale of its money-losing interior systems division in 2006. Jim Kamsickas, the former head of that Lear division, remained with the business and serves as IAC North America's president and CEO. Lear owns about 23% of IAC North America.