ArvinMeritor will expand Dexter operation

200 jobs to be added

Business Today

DEXTER -- ArvinMeritor Inc. will increase its light vehicle systems manufacturing operations in Dexter through a six-year lease of a 221,000-square-foot facility owned by the city of Dexter.

The $10 million capital investment, including the addition of 200 workers, will be made over the next five years. It will expand the current Air and Emissions Technologies' North American past model service and special products business already located in Dexter.

"Working closely with the city of Dexter, the Dexter Chamber of Commerce, the Missouri Economic Development Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture - Rural Development, we were able to locate a suitable facility close to our current operations," said Tom Frazier, site manager of ArvinMeritor's LVS Air and Emissions Technologies Dexter plant. "The new building will allow us to free up floor space in the current plant as we prepare for expanding business."

The ArvinMeritor Dexter plant, which produces light vehicle exhaust systems, began operations in 1974. It is affiliated with the United Auto Workers Local 1930 and employs more than 600 workers.

ArvinMeritor's Light Vehicle Systems (LVS) business group posted more than $4.3 billion in sales during fiscal year 2003 and employs more than 17,000 people at 74 facilities in 23 countries.

LVS, a market leader in the product categories it serves, supplies integrated systems and modules to the world's leading passenger car and light truck OEMs. With advanced technology and systems design expertise in apertures, undercarriage, wheels and emissions control, LVS combines high-quality components into cost-effective, performance-based solutions for virtually every car and light truck on the road today, officials said.

ArvinMeritor Inc. is a $8 billion global supplier of a broad range of integrated systems, modules and components to the motor vehicle industry. The company services light vehicle, commercial truck, trailer and specialty original equipment manufacturers, and related aftermarkets.

Headquartered in Troy, Mich., ArvinMeritor employs about 32,000 people at more than 150 manufacturing facilities in 27 countries. ArvinMeritor common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol of ARM.