Ford to Close Final Legacy Parts Plant in December

By year-end Ford Motor Co. will shut down the last of 17 component factories it took back nine years ago from Visteon Corp., its former in-house partsmaking unit, Crain's Detroit Business reports.

The final facility is a climate control plant in Plymouth Township, Mich. Ford agreed two years ago to sell the business to Detroit Thermal Systems, a joint venture between France's Valeo and V. Johnson Enterprises.

The shutdown will eliminate the last 257 jobs at the plant. Operations will move to Detroit Thermal's 365,000 sq-ft factory in nearby Romulus, Mich. The shuttered factory will be acquired by Ford's real estate subsidiary, which has not yet finalized a subsequent plan for the site.

Ford acquired the 17 parts plants from Visteon to maintain a stable supply chain as the latter company began to slide into bankruptcy. Ford formed Automotive Component Holdings LLC in 2005 to divest the facilities. Ford absorbed two factories, and ACH has been selling or closing the others.