Federal-Mogul
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| Type | Public (NASDAQ: FDML) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive, Energy, Industrial and Transport powertrain and safety products |
| Founded | 1899 as the Muzzy-Lyon Company |
| Headquarters | Southfield, Michigan, USA |
| Key people | Carl Icahn, Chairman of the Board Rainer Jueckstock, President & CEO |
| Products | pistons, rings, pins, liners, valve seats and guides, ignition products, bearings, bushings, heatshields, sealing products, transmission components, brake and chassis components, and systems protection products |
| Revenue |  $6.2 billion USD (2010) |
| Operating income | $145.0 million USD (2009) |
| Net income | $161 million USD (2010) |
| Employees | 43,000 (2010) |
| Website | www.federalmogul.com |
Federal-Mogul Corporation is a global automotive supplier based in Southfield, Michigan, USA. It is one of the leading engine-parts suppliers in the United States, including engine bearings, pistons, piston pins, piston rings, cylinder liners, valve seats and guides, transmission products, technical textiles and connecting rods.[1] Federal-Mogul employs some 45,000 people in 34 countries with 107 manufacturing locations, 25 distribution centers and 16 technical centers.[2]
[edit] History
The company began in 1899 as the Muzzy-Lyon Company in Detroit when founders J. Howard Muzzy and Edward F. Lyon went into business together producing mill supplies and rubber goods.[2] Also in 1899, the two formed a subsidiary called Mogul Metal Company to produce bearings made from their own Babbitt metal, an alloy of tin, antimony and copper, under the trademarks "Mogul" and "Duro".[1][2][3] The bearings business proved successful and in the early 1900s became the pair's main concern, with Buick as one of their earliest customers.[2] Federal Bearings & Bushings Co. was founded in 1915 by a group of Detroit businessmen and manufactured bronze bearings.[1] Mogul Metal, Federal and Bower Roller Bearing Co. merged in 1924 to form Federal-Mogul-Bower Bearings, Inc.
In 1932 the company developed a new alloy called C-100, the first new bearing material since the discovery of Babbitt metal, which was refined in 1934 as C-50.[3] In 1955 the company acquired National Motor Bearing Co. and the following year was listed as #350 on the Fortune 500, with total sales of $100 million USD.[4][5] The company was renamed Federal-Mogul Corporation following a merger with Sterling Aluminum Products in April, 1965.[5][6]
In 1981 the company won a claim in the Supreme Court to patent a process for curing rubber based on the mathematical equation written by Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius in 1889. The US Patent Office had initially rejected Federal-Mogul's claim on the basis that neither a formula, as a law of nature, nor a computer program based on such a formula, could be patented.[7]
In 1998 the company acquired Turner & Newall, a building materials company based in Manchester, UK. Turner & Newall was one of the world's largest manufacturers of asbestos-related products, including those made with blue crocidolite asbestos mined in South Africa. Turner & Newall was responsible for the Armley asbestos disaster in Leeds, UK. The large number of products liability claims that came with this acquisition were largely responsible for Federal-Mogul's federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in 2002.[8]
The Barcelona branch was closed at the end of the year 2010. Twenty five employees were made redundant from a total headcount of thirty three.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Klier, Thomas H; Rubenstein, James N. (2008). Who really made your car? Restructuring and geographic change in the auto industry. Kalamazoo, MI: W. E. Upjohn Institute. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-0-88099-333-3.
- ^ a b c d Turner, Tyya N. (2005). Vault guide to the top manufacturing employers. New York, NY: Vault Inc. pp. 108–112. ISBN 1-58131-324-1.
- ^ a b "1899-1940: Founded on Innovation". Federal-Mogul Corporation. 2011. http://www.federalmogul.com/en/OurCompany/CompanyOverview/History/FoundedonInnovation/. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
- ^ "1956: Full List". Fortune 500. 2011. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500_archive/full/1956/301.html. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
- ^ a b "1941-1956: Diversifying for Success". Federal-Mogul Corporation. 2011. http://www.federalmogul.com/en/OurCompany/CompanyOverview/History/DiversifyingforSuccess/. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
- ^ Morton, Hudson T. (1965). Anti-friction Bearings. Ann Arbor, MI: Hudson T. Morton. p. 465.
- ^ "Computer-aided processes are patently confusing". New Scientist 89 (1244): 678. 12 March 2008. ISSN 02624079.
- ^ Federal Mogul:" Wheeling & Dealing in Asbestos Liability, Environmental Working Group website
