Automotive Components Holdings
Automotive Components Holdings was a Ford-managed temporary business created to operate and divest former Visteon automotive-component facilities.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Automotive Components Holdings, commonly abbreviated ACH, was a temporary business structure established and managed by Ford Motor Company in 2005. It was created when Ford took control of 17 automotive-component factories and six research, testing, and other facilities from Visteon Corporation on October 1, 2005. The arrangement arose during a period of severe financial pressure at Visteon, a former Ford component subsidiary and major supplier. Ford’s immediate objective was continuity of supply: by bringing the facilities under its own management, Ford sought to protect vehicle production from possible interruptions while also giving the plants time to be restructured, sold, closed, or returned to Ford ownership. ACH was not a conventional consumer-facing automotive brand and did not market finished vehicles. Its activities covered a broad range of parts and manufacturing capabilities, including climate-control components, lighting, air-induction systems, fuel-vapor storage, instrument panels, consoles, door trim, seating foam, steering components, fuel tanks, chassis systems, axles, powertrain-related products, and automotive glass. The organization also included research, testing, distribution, sequencing, and final-assembly operations. Its facilities were located primarily in the United States, with additional operations in Mexico. The business was designed from the outset as a transition platform rather than a permanent industrial group. Ford progressively disposed of ACH operations through a combination of plant sales, business transfers, leases, closures, idling, and transfers back into Ford. In 2007, the Converca power-transfer-unit operation and the El Jarudo fuel-rail operation were sold. The El Jarudo facility was acquired by Cooper-Standard Automotive in April 2007. In January 2008, the driveshaft operation based at the Monroe plant was sold to Neapco Drivelines, with equipment and employees moved elsewhere in southeast Michigan. In April 2008, ACH’s glass operations—including plants in Nashville, Tulsa, and Ciudad Juárez, together with the Carlite distribution operation—were sold to Zeledyne Glass Products. Other facilities followed different paths. The Chesterfield, Kansas City, and Indianapolis plants were closed at various points. The Utica, Monroe, and Ypsilanti facilities were idled or closed and later sold or otherwise disposed of. The Sandusky operation was sold to Flex-N-Gate in 2012, while the Saline plant was sold to Faurecia, which began operating it that year. The Milan plant was leased to Inergy in 2011. Some facilities, including the Rawsonville and Sterling operations, were transferred back to Ford and subsequently operated as Ford facilities. The Sheldon Road plant’s climate-control business was later sold to Detroit Thermal Systems after operations ceased in December 2014. ACH therefore represented Ford’s operational response to supplier distress and its effort to manage the industrial consequences of Visteon’s restructuring. Its history is primarily one of asset management and industrial transition rather than brand building. Public information describes extensive plant-level activity, but does not clearly establish a separate long-term commercial identity, a public listing, or a definitive formal dissolution date.
History
Automotive Components Holdings, LLC was created by Ford Motor Company on October 1, 2005, as a temporary organization for a group of former Visteon facilities. Visteon had originated within Ford and remained an important supplier, but it was experiencing serious financial and operational difficulties. Ford took control of 17 factories and six research, testing, and related facilities so that production of essential components would continue while the assets were prepared for sale, closure, transfer, or other disposition. The ACH portfolio was industrially diverse. Facilities produced or handled climate-control systems, lighting, air-induction and fuel-vapor-storage components, instrument panels, consoles, door trim, seating foam, steering components, fuel tanks, chassis products, driveshafts, axles, powertrain components, and automotive glass. The portfolio included plants in Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Mexico. ACH also operated distribution, sequencing, testing, and final-assembly activities connected with Ford’s vehicle programs. Ford began reducing the portfolio relatively soon after ACH was formed. The Converca power-transfer-unit operation and El Jarudo fuel-rail facility were sold in 2007. Cooper-Standard Automotive acquired El Jarudo on April 2, 2007. The driveshaft business located at the Monroe plant was sold to Neapco Drivelines in January 2008, with equipment and employees relocated to another southeast Michigan site. On April 14, 2008, Zeledyne Glass Products acquired ACH’s glass operations, including the Nashville and Tulsa plants, the Vidriocar plant in Ciudad Juárez, and the Carlite glass distribution center. Several sites were closed or idled as Ford continued to rationalize the inherited operations. The Chesterfield plant closed in June 2006, while the Kansas City plant ceased operations in December 2006. The Utica, Monroe, and Ypsilanti facilities were subsequently idled or closed, with later property sales or other dispositions. The Indianapolis plant closed in April 2012. The Sheldon Road plant in Plymouth, Michigan, continued to be associated with climate-control production until operations ended in December 2014; the business was then sold to Detroit Thermal Systems. Other assets moved to new owners or back to Ford. The Sandusky plant, which produced lighting, air-induction, and fuel-vapor-storage components, was sold to Flex-N-Gate in 2012. The Saline plant, producing interior systems such as instrument panels, consoles, and door trim, was sold to Faurecia, which began operations there in June 2012. The Milan fuel-tank operation was leased to Inergy in 2011. The Monroe plant was eventually sold to Ford, while the Rawsonville and Sterling operations were transferred back to Ford and became Ford-operated facilities. ACH’s history illustrates a supply-chain continuity strategy combined with industrial divestiture. Ford used the organization to prevent disruption to vehicle manufacturing at a vulnerable supplier, then progressively separated the facilities according to their strategic value, buyer interest, operating condition, and relationship to Ford’s own manufacturing network. Available reference material does not provide a definitive public announcement marking the legal end of ACH, so its ultimate formal status is best treated as uncertain.
- 2014
Sheldon Road operations ceased
[1]Operations at the Sheldon Road plant in Plymouth, Michigan, ended in December, followed by sale of the associated business to Detroit Thermal Systems.
- 2012
Sandusky and Saline plants transferred to new operators
[1]Flex-N-Gate acquired the Sandusky plant, while Faurecia acquired and began operating the Saline interior-components facility.
- 2011
Milan operation leased to Inergy
[1]The Milan, Michigan, fuel-tank plant was leased to Inergy as part of the continuing restructuring of ACH assets.
- 2008
Driveshaft and glass businesses divested
[1]Neapco acquired the Monroe driveshaft business in January, and Zeledyne acquired ACH’s glass operations in April.
- 2007
Initial facility divestitures
[2]The Converca and El Jarudo operations were sold; Cooper-Standard Automotive acquired the El Jarudo fuel-rail facility in Mexico.
- 2006
Chesterfield and Kansas City operations closed
[1]The Chesterfield seating-foam plant closed in June, and the Kansas City plant ceased operations in December.
- 2005
ACH established by Ford
[1]Ford created Automotive Components Holdings and placed 17 former Visteon factories plus six research, testing, and related facilities under its management.
Products and positioning
A Ford-controlled transition and asset-management organization focused on maintaining parts supply while preparing former Visteon facilities for sale, closure, transfer, or other disposition.
Automotive thermal systems
Climate-control components
ACH’s Sheldon Road operation in Plymouth, Michigan, produced climate-control components for automotive applications. The facility was part of the former Visteon portfolio and remained in operation during Ford’s transitionary management of the assets. Operations ceased in December 2014, after which the related business was sold to Detroit Thermal Systems.
Automotive interiors
Interior components
The Saline plant produced interior systems including instrument panels, center consoles, and door trim. Ford later sold the facility to Faurecia, which began operating it in June 2012. These products represented one of ACH’s principal component-manufacturing activities in the United States.
Automotive glazing
Automotive glass
ACH’s glass portfolio included manufacturing plants in Nashville, Tennessee; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, together with the Carlite glass distribution facility. The complete glass operation was sold to Zeledyne Glass Products in April 2008.
Automotive systems
Lighting, air-induction, and fuel-vapor components
The Sandusky, Ohio, plant produced lighting, air-induction, and fuel-vapor-storage components. Ford announced its sale to Flex-N-Gate in 2012, with the transaction scheduled for completion on June 30 of that year.
Automotive mechanical components
Chassis, axle, steering, and powertrain components
The former ACH network included chassis and driveshaft production at Monroe, steering production at Indianapolis, axle production at Sterling, and powertrain-related operations at Rawsonville and El Jarudo. These activities were divided among sales, closures, transfers to Ford, and other dispositions.
Brand decisions
2012
Transfer Sandusky and Saline facilities to strategic operatorsM&ABackground
Ford continued to rationalize the ACH network and seek permanent operators for facilities that remained commercially viable.
Action taken
The Sandusky plant was sold to Flex-N-Gate, while the Saline plant was sold to Faurecia.
Aftermath
Both sites moved from the Ford-managed ACH structure to independent automotive suppliers.
2008
Divest the ACH glass businessM&ABackground
Ford was reducing the temporary ACH portfolio and separating non-core manufacturing operations from its vehicle business.
Action taken
ACH sold its Nashville, Tulsa, Vidriocar, and Carlite glass operations to Zeledyne Glass Products.
Aftermath
The former ACH glass activities continued under an independent operator outside Ford’s temporary holding structure.
2005
Create a temporary Ford-managed components businessStrategyBackground
Visteon was under severe financial pressure, creating a risk that Ford’s vehicle production could be affected by supply interruptions or insufficient investment in future component programs.
Action taken
Ford placed 17 factories and six research, testing, and related facilities into Automotive Components Holdings and managed them as a temporary operating structure.
Aftermath
The structure allowed Ford to maintain component flows while progressively selling, closing, leasing, or transferring the facilities.
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