Michigan Lures Tremec Transmission Plant, HQ to the Detroit Area

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

A major automotive supplier plans to build a production facility in the Detroit area and make it the base for its U.S. operations.

Tremec Corp., best known for its high-performance transmissions, plans to invest $54 million in a multi-purpose facility in Wixom, Michigan, according to Crain’s Detroit Business. Besides production of transmissions and powertrain components, the facility will host Tremec’s sales and technical operations, and serve as its American headquarters.

Yesterday, the Mexico-based company landed a $731,500 performance-based grant from an arm of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. It expects to create 133 jobs in Wixom, which offered the company a reduction in property taxes to seal the deal.

According to Crain’s, Michigan offered Tremec the grant after it learned the supplier was eyeing a site in Indiana, closer to vehicle assembly plants in the South and Midwest.

Tremec set up shop in Michigan in 1975, and currently has a small number of employees manning a technical and sales office in Plymouth Township. Products manufactured in the future Wixon plant will serve the automotive and heavy equipment sectors.

Michigan recently lured British performance parts supplier Cosworth to the area with a $2.1 million loan, while supplier Flex-N-Gate landed a $3.5 million loan to build a plant in one of Detroit’s most impoverished neighborhoods.

[Image: RVAE34/ Flickr]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Inside Looking Out Inside Looking Out on Jun 17, 2016

    The good thing about USA is that only interests of large shareholders, CEOs and may be higher management matter and employees can go and f-k themselves or vote for Trump which is another version of the same. I am not sure that Mexico is any better though, most likely worse if half of population wants to move to US of all the places.

    • Raph Raph on Jun 18, 2016

      That trend is slowing or perhaps reversing as businesses grow in Mexico ( not just manufacturing but agriculture to cite one example ). LIke the country being over run by rapists and murderers extreme numbers of Mexicans relocating is largely a myth perpetrated by a poorly coiffed orangutan whipping up its base. Just as well, illegsl and legal migrant workers are treated like crap in the US and in some cases practically reduced to chattel.

  • White Shadow White Shadow on Jun 17, 2016

    But...wait....nobody is buying manual transmissions anymore, right? Does Tremec make anything other than manual gearboxes? Because when I hear Tremec, the only thing that comes to mind is Mustang manual transmissions. FWIW, I'm a big fan of Tremec transmissions in general because they take far more abuse than the old Borg Warner boxes in my old Mustangs.

  • Ron B. Ron B. on Jun 18, 2016

    Interesting to note that Michigan is at least trying hard to bring company operations to the area,unlike the entire country of Australia where successive governments and the green movement believe that we do not need industry and the nation will be better off being a mass importer.

    • Big Al from Oz Big Al from Oz on Jun 18, 2016

      Ron B. I like your little rib. The reality is the only part of the Australia motor vehicle industry that has been dismantled/relocated is the assembly side. Australia has retained vehicle design and development. No more tax dollars are being wasted doing something we are not competitive at. This is what is important. Just having tax dollars and restrictions/regulations/tariffs/taxes, etc to protect an industry tells me the consumers and tax payer is not getting value for their investment/purchase. So far it seems that the loss of the auto industry has done no harm to the country. It's a pity no more V8 Fords and GMHs will be made, but why would you build something at a loss? Do you manage yourself in such a fashion?

  • Dartman Dartman on Jun 18, 2016

    It's not the Aussie government; it's big business. The population of Oz is only 23m or so compared to 520m in North America; (54m in Great Lakes Region alone) It is not cost effective to have separate plants there. Australia is a lovely country with great people, I hope they keep it that way.

    • Big Al from Oz Big Al from Oz on Jun 18, 2016

      dartman, You are quite correct in your assumption. The subsidisation of the motor vehicle industry in Australia was costing the taxpayers over $2 000 per vehicle made. In 2013 the US was forking out an average of $3 000 per US made vehicle. This to me is not logical. It's not our population that has made us uncompetitive, especially in this day and age with fantastic global logistics. The outcome has actually been favourable for us, the high paying, high skilled jobs are retained and the lower paying production work has been dissolved.

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