New business deals totaled $5.2B in 2005
Packard has signed new business deals with virtually every automaker.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
WARREN -- Despite the uncertainty swirling around its parent company, Delphi Packard Electric Systems secured $5.2 billion in new business last year.
The Warren-based maker of electrical and electronic systems said Monday that it signed new business with virtually every automaker worldwide. It also signed deals in nonautomotive markets, such as the marine industry and commercial trucks.
Doug Hoy, a Packard spokesman, said the division recorded $8 billion in new business in 2003 but called the 2005 total a "strong figure." He said he didn't have a figure for 2004.
Amounts vary yearly in part because bid opportunities fluctuate, depending on the number of new or redesigned models being proposed, he said.
The new business signings show that Packard continues to be a global leader despite the financial troubles of its parent company, Michigan-based Delphi Corp., he said. Delphi filed for bankruptcy protection last October and expects to emerge as a reorganized company in 2007.
"We continue to chase new customers," Hoy said.
Work for future models
He said the new business signings will impact Packard's area plants, but he couldn't be specific. Production work related to the signings is years away, being that most of the signings were for 2009 vehicle models.
Packard didn't release information about individual customers.
Packard employs about 5,000 hourly and salaried workers in the area. It has operations around the world, with the local plants making mostly plastic parts, metal stampings and cable.
Hoy said the company isn't breaking down the new business by region but said the total cleared $1 billion each in North America, Europe and Asia. The only one of its four regions that didn't top that number was South America.
Douglas Gruber, Packard business line executive, said breaking the $5 billion mark can be attributed to a number of factors, all of which are linked to its far-reaching marketplace presence.
"Experience counts when it comes to turning so many of these opportunities into wins," he said.