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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Thursday August 16, 2012
Contact: David Isaacson, [email protected], 773-593-2741
650 New Hires Help Nexteer Meet Demand for Electric Power Steering; Vehicles Get up to Six Percent Fuel Boost in Fuel Economy
Saginaw, Michigan ‚Äì Nexteer Automotive, a tier one automotive supplier and one of Saginaw County’s largest employers, is featured in a video on DrivingGrowth.org, a website that tracks the revitalization of the U.S. auto industry sponsored by U.S. and Michigan environmental groups.
The video, featuring top managers and rank-and-file employees, was shot on location at Nexteer in July. It highlights electric power steering, a fuel-saving technology which can improve fuel efficiency by up to six percent in a typical passenger car.
DrivingGrowth.org is sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Wildlife Federation and the Michigan League of Conservation Voters Education Fund. The site features videos, jobs reports, research studies news articles and blogs focused on new technology being used by U.S. automakers and suppliers to meet new federal fuel economy and emissions standards.
Model year 2012 is the first year of a long-term federal program that requires a sales-weighted average of the equivalent of 35.5 mpg by 2016. Final rules expected later this month will raise the standards even higher to the equivalent of 54.5 mpg by 2025.
In the online video about Nexteer, Sergio Rodriguez, chief operating officer for Nexteer’s Saginaw Division, reports that the 400 acre complex has hired 650 new workers in the past 18 months to meet demand for its products.
Electric power steering replaces hydraulic power steering that is a steady drain on vehicle engines with an on-demand electric system, resulting in up to six percent gain in fuel economy. Nexteer will place EPS in pick up trucks produced by Chrysler, Ford, GM and other manufacturers.
“The future I see for the Saginaw site is going to be growth, making sure we’re here for another hundred years,” says Rodriguez.
Also featured in the online video:
• Joe Laurin, Shop Committeeman, UAW Local 699
“With an electronic steering unit, you’re not drawing off the motor, the gasoline engine, so that will give you another four to six percent fuel economy. ”
• Niklaus A Von Matt, Product Engineering Manager
“Here in Saginaw, we are recognizing the need for increased fuel efficiency, and as the industry changes we are developing constantly new systems that can fill that demand.”
• Charles Cork, Team Leader Final Assembly, member, UAW Local 699
“It’s a commitment to Saginaw we’re going to be here. The money that’s coming into this plant, our coming out of this plant, is going to be spent in Saginaw, in the restaurants, in the housing market.”
For more information about Driving Growth.org, please contact: Contact: David Isaacson, [email protected], 773-593-2741
For more information about Nexteer Automotive, please contact Luis Canales, [email protected], 1-989-757-3086
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