Tower Automotive to Close Milwaukee Ranger Plant

---

Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Giant automotive supplier, Tower Automotive, Incorporated (OTC:TWRA) (Novi, Michigan) has announced that it will close another frame assembly plant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and move operations of the plant to an existing plant in Bellevue, Ohio. The closing of the Milwaukee plant will result in the loss of 300 jobs for the area when the plant closes in March 2006.

Another Tower plant in Milwaukee began closure in 2003, with the relocation of one of its production lines to the Bellevue plant, and later transferred the remaining line to Bellevue in mid-2004. Most of its Dodge Ram production was moved to its joint venture operation, Metalsa S de RL (Apodaca, Nuevo Leon) in Mexico. Metalsa S de RL (Apodaca, Nuevo Leon) is 40% owned by Tower and 60% owned by Grupo Proeza SA de CV. The Apodaca plant is in the midst of an expansion, which is scheduled for completion at the end of 2005.

Troubled Tower sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2005, in the face of downwardly revised OEM production levels, higher raw materials costs, and unrelenting demands by its OEM customers to compete price-wise on a global scale. The company is still struggling to make its operations leaner and more efficient, so it can finally emerge from Chapter 11.

View Plant Profile - 1049893 1061472 1049918 1512409 1031273
View Project Report - 65000490

Industrial Information Resources (IIR) is a Marketing Information Service company that has been doing business for over 22 years. IIR is respected as a leader in providing comprehensive market intelligence pertaining to the industrial processing, heavy manufacturing, and energy-related industries throughout the world.