Accuride to invest $75m in 2012

Accuride (ACW), a manufacturer and supplier of commercial vehicle components, is planning to invest $75m this year to increase and improve multiple aspects of their core businesses.

The company said that the investment will help strengthen its product availability, quality and reliability, and upgrade its manufacturing processes.

Accuride Wheels manufactures forged steel and aluminum wheels for trucks and wheel-end components at eight plants in the US, Canada, and Mexico, and recently outlined how $35m of investments during 2011 had increased its aluminum wheel production capacity.

Accuride president and CEO Rick Dauch said the company is committed to being a reliable and dependable supplier of steel and aluminum wheels and wheel-end components for its OE and aftermarket customers.

"We made solid progress in boosting our production capacity last year, and are stepping up our investments to extend and accelerate that progress throughout 2012," Dauch said.

"These investment plans further demonstrate our continuing commitment to improve product quality and ensure availability to meet growing demand by our customers and the industry.

"We won't be satisfied until Accuride becomes the premier supplier of wheel-end system solutions to the global commercial vehicle industry."

The first element of the 2012 investment program involves new machining lines for the Accuride Wheels business.

The company plans $20m of aluminum wheel capacity investments this year that will include plant improvements, installing new machining lines and equipment, relocating equipment among its three aluminum wheel plants in Erie, Pennsylvania, Camden, South Carolina, and Monterrey, Mexico.

The company said that the investments will double aluminum wheel production capacity at Camden and Monterrey and predicted that the commercial vehicle industry would hit the peak of its demand cycle in 2013-14.

The second phase of 2012 investments will focus on the company's Gunite unit, which produces commercial vehicle wheel-end components, like brake drums, disc brake rotors, spoke wheels, disc wheel hubs, and other products.