Meritor expands Ontario suspension plant

MILTON, Ont. (March 8, 2000) — Meritor Automotive Inc. announced that Meritor Suspension Systems Co., its joint venture with Mitsubishi, has completed a nearly 11,220-square-foot expansion at its Milton automotive suspension coil spring manufacturing facility.

The expansion provides additional warehouse space for both in-house storage of finished product awaiting shipment, the capacity to accommodate future production programs and the addition of a combination hot and cold coil spring line. Astral Building Company of Mississauga, Ont. constructed the new facility.

Robert Patrician, president and general manager, Meritor Suspension Systems Co., advised that the plant’s expansion was necessary due to the new orders for hot and cold coil springs to North American original equipment manufacturers’ (OEMs) and light vehicle aftermarket suppliers.

The $4 million expansion will allow for production of either hot or cold wound coil springs. The plant had traditionally supplied hot wound coil springs to its customers. The combination line now provides the flexibility to introduce cold coiling into the manufacturing process. The new combination line will occupy over 1,440 sq. meters of plant space.

The QS9000- and ISO 9000-certified manufacturing facility is the largest independent supplier of automotive suspension coil springs in North America, producing more than 14 million coil springs annually for light vehicle manufacturers throughout Canada and the United States. The plant has been supporting the community since 1954 and employs more than 250 people in its 74,000-square-foot manufacturing and warehousing operations.

The Milton facility is one of three production centres in North America. The Milton plant has produced more than 100 million coil springs in the past 10 years.