Spark Plug Manufacturing Heads to the Far East

[Joe L.]

Well, I saw an interesting article recently. It seems that a Chinese company, Torch Spark Plugs, purchased all of the manufacturing tooling from the AC Spark Plug manufacturing plant in Flint, MI. They paid 3 million dollars for the whole "kit-and-kaboodle" during the asset sale of the DELPHI bankruptcy. Then, they carefully dismantled it, packed it all away in 90 shipping containers and off-to-China it went.

The AC Spark Plug plant in Flint was the home of AC Spark plugs (although it was not the only manufacturing location for said plugs). It's now gone; another piece of American manufacturing prowess fades into history.

However, the next time you run across a Made-in-China Torch Spark Plug, you'll know that it was probably manufactured off the same tooling as the AC Spark Plugs of old. So, that ought to make you feel a little better about it.

[Duke W.]

Re: Spark Plug Manufacturing Heads to the Far East

Joe - I assume that Torch just bought the manufacturing equipment - not the AC brand name, however, it appears logical that future AC plugs might be made by Torch under contract to GM.

Duke

[Joe L.]

Re: Spark Plug Manufacturing Heads to the Far East

Duke-----

Yes, as far as I know, the sale was just for the equipment. In fact, the transaction was between DELPHI and Torch. I don't think that DELPHI owns any rights to the "AC" brand. Since virtually all AC-Delco-branded parts are manufactured by non GM entities, I would not be the least bit surprised to see Torch a supplier of AC spark plugs in the not-too-distant future.

One thing's for sure: GM has no manufacturing facilities for spark plugs and, soon, if not already, DELPHI will have no manufacturing facilities anywhere in the world for spark plugs. The "commodity" parts manufacturing businesses, which include spark plugs, filters, batteries, etc., are the ones that DELPHI is exiting completely. So, any AC-Delco spark plugs will have to originate from non-GM and non-DELPHI manufacturing operations. Same thing with filters, batteries, and many more items.

In a way, it would be best if Torch does get the manufacturing contract for AC-Delco spark plugs. At least, then, one would know that the plugs were manufactured off of the original tooling and manufacturing processes. That's better than an "unknown".

[Mark #28455]

Just a sign of the times

When government regs and old contracts force GM to pay the equivalent of about $90 per hour for labor - when you consider medical care for ex-employees, union labor rates, OSHA regs, emission and pollution regs, etc......

The only logical answer is to divide up the company, assign all the "crap" to a certain subdivision (like DELPHI) and then let that entity go bankrupt. Sure, a lot of American workers lose their jobs, but then all those union contracts are history, and they get to start over in a country like China where the workers will work for less than $5 a day and the govt regs are minimal compared to here. I bet in a communist country, you don't even have to pay for health insurance or retirement plans.

Unfortunately, our citizens just don't understand that unless WE protect our own jobs, almost all of our jobs can be outsourced! I am a surgeon, but now there are even surgical ROBOTS that can be controlled by satellite link! I wonder what would happen if in the middle of surgery the link went down or the robot malfunctioned.... But wait --- if you do all the testing on active duty military, they CANNOT sue! After the testing is done, I bet you can even train a bunch of overseas docs to take over the controls for pennies on the dollar!

WE (Americans) should be a LOT more aware of what is going on around us! Thank you Joe for bringing this up!

Mark

[Jim T.]

Re: Just a sign of the times

Hope it is a long time before the AC Delco batteries go to China. Just replaced a AC Delco 72 month battery in my 96 LT4 that I installed in JAN 2001. First replacement. Bought a AC Delco Professional 75-7YR (84 months)that has a 50 month free replacement and limited warranty after that. For me they have been a good product and hope that manufacturing stays in the USA.

[Joe L.]

Re: Just a sign of the times

Jim------

AC Delco batteries are likely going to be made by Johnson Controls or Exide. I think that Johnson Controls purchased some of the battery manufacturing facilities from DELPHI.

[Terry M.]

Re: Just a sign of the times

Brian Pearce and I spent some time at the Bowling Green Assembly plant a couple of weeks ago, and Brian was closely examining a skid of batteries destined for 2008 Corvettes. His comment -- "They don't look like the AC Delcos we are used to seeing." I noted some faint markings on the top that looked like shadows of the word "Exide." I'll look again in a few days, but I think the world has changed while I was not paying attention.

[Joe L.]

Re: Just a sign of the times

Terry-----

DELPHI has been exiting the battery manufacturing business for quite some time. I believe that the sale or closure of most of its battery manufacturing operations occurred quite some time ago. As I recall, they retained one plant somewhere on the east coast (around Baltimore, I think) due to some union contractual obligation. However, I'm pretty sure that would have been "jettisoned" during the bankruptcy. So, I doubt that DELPHI has any more battery manufacturing operations, at all. Even if they do have some remnants, they are "not long for this world".

AC-Delco now purchases their batteries from other manufacturing sources. Of course, they are labeled and branded with AC-Delco. I have seen some AC-Delco batteries which were of the semi-maintenance-free variety (i.e. they have a cap on the top which can be removed for water addition). I had not seen these for years, and I don't think that DELPHI manufacturing operations turned out any of that type for years.

[Jim T.]

Re: Just a sign of the times

Joe the battery I just purchased, 75-7YR Professinal has the removable caps to visually check/add water. The Delco I replaced which I bought in 2001 did not have caps, could not check the water. Thanks for the battery manufacturing update.

[John H.]

Re: Spark Plug Manufacturing Heads to the Far East

I remember seeing those lines run at AC-Flint back in the 60's - shells, insulators and small parts went in one end, and finished plugs spit out the other end like machine-gun bullets. The engine plants bought plugs by the thousands, in huge wire baskets with cardboard separators between layers, with no packaging - just loose plugs; they paid 7 cents apiece for them in those days. I think GMPD paid 38 cents each for them in individual boxes.