ArvinMeritor's Global Automotive Focus: 
Targeting Europe
Automobil-Produktion Conference

Speaker: Bill Hunt
May 8, 2001
Stuttgart, Germany

Automobil-Produktion is a magazine for the German automotive and supplier industry, as well as for all service providers and factory outfitters involved in automotive manufacturing. The magazine promotes dialog in the fields of engineering, purchasing, production and globalization on all management levels. This spring, Automobil-Produktion hosted a conference for those in the automotive industry. Vice Chairman and President Bill Hunt spoke about ArvinMeritor's history, the merger and how the company is strategically developing a global presence through acquisitions, joint ventures and alliances with other industry leaders.

Along with forming these relationships, Hunt believes that ArvinMeritor must adapt its expertise to satisfy individual market preferences. The company prefers to develop a vehicle for the country in which it will be driven. For this reason, ArvinMeritor has a strong European presence, with 95 locations in Europe.

In addition to looking at ArvinMeritor's global strategy, Hunt spoke about the global automotive industry as a whole, including trends such as OEMs forming alliances and taking advantage of electronic technology and the Internet. He also discussed the downturn of the industry and the potential for growth, especially in China and India.

To succeed in the global marketplace, Hunt believes it is important to learn from each other and from customers, instead of trying to impose our standards on others. He used the example of the ArvinMeritor Performance System (AMPS), which was developed in the U.S. from a Japanese model. In order for the program to be accepted and effective, it must be culturally tuned for each country in which it is implemented.

Hunt discussed some of the ways in which ArvinMeritor is meeting its customers' needs. The company has taken the lead in developing integrated systems and modules and has also made great strides in emission control and exhaust technology. For example, ArvinMeritor's Air2Air system provides better system tuning, outstanding air-flow management and improved NVH.

Being number one, says Hunt, isn't about imposing our taste on others or developing a heavy market strategy to sell what we make. It's about learning, adapting and evolving to create superior products that meet the demands of the various segments of the global marketplace. ArvinMeritor accepts this challenge.