How to fix Chrysler BARRIE MCKENNA AND GREG KEENAN From Saturday's Globe and Mail
SYRACUSE, N.Y. and TORONTO ? With its corrugated metal sides, loading bays and vast employee parking lot, there isn't much to distinguish New Process Gear from other large automotive factories. The flat roof of the sprawling structure is dotted with ventilation ducts and steam shafts. Out front, facing the busy New York State Thruway, sits a modern two-storey building with tinted windows that houses its administrative offices. Look a little closer and it becomes clear this isn't one plant at all. It's actually a jumble of additions, reflecting the company's four decades of producing an array of components for every major North American auto maker ? axle parts, transmissions, gears and transfer cases that allow sport utility vehicles to shift into four-wheel drive. Every time the Syracuse plant won a big contract for another model, it would grow. Bought by Magna International Inc. from DaimlerChrysler AG in 2004 as New Venture Gear, it offers a powerful taste of what's in store if Magna mounts a successful bid for Chrysler.
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