Ford Motor Co. has revved up sales amid perceived quality gains with consumers, but instead of taking a victory lap it has moved to consolidate relationships with key suppliers like the Denso Corp.’s Athens, Tenn., plant.
The plant, known as DMAT, supplies exhaust sensors, fuel injectors, ignition coils, spark plugs and other engine parts for Ford and other automakers.
DMAT was one of only 11 suppliers in 2009 to earn Ford’s World Excellence Award, a recognition that the facility met or exceeded Ford’s quality and cost standards for the fuel injectors it produces for Ford, Denso said in a news release. DMAT has received the award in three of the past four years, a achievement Ford officials say is significant.
The DMAT plant plays a small but key role in Denso Corp.’s worldwide parts empire that started in 1949 as a Toyota spin-off, and since that time has grown to 184 subsidiaries with $32 billion in sales, employing 121,000 workers in 33 countries.