June 24, 2008
By Dave Alexander
Muskegon Chronicle

MUSKEGON — Slowly and quietly, ADAC Plastics has become one of the top industrial employers in Muskegon County as the Grand Rapids-based automotive parts supplier consolidates operations in the Port City Industrial Park.

ADAC has just completed a 50,000-square-foot warehouse expansion at its 1801 Keating facility — one of two in Muskegon that make door handles among other automotive parts. The company has consolidated some other operations in Muskegon for Honda among other customers, according to Peter Hungerford, director of production systems for ADAC.

“Our moves have made Muskegon the single largest center of employment for our company,” Hungerford said during a recent employee and community leadership reception. “We are committed to Muskegon.”

Between the Keating facility and the company’s original Muskegon plant across the street at 2050 Port City Blvd., the two locations in the city of Muskegon are employing about 500 workers, up about 100 over the past year. That puts ADAC third on the county’s list of industrial employers and fifth overall, with about as many employees as Muskegon-based Wesco Inc., the gasoline/convenience store retailer.

About half of the privately held company’s overall employment base now is located in Muskegon; the company also has facilities in Grand Rapids, Saranac and Troy. In Muskegon since 1990, the company produces plastic auto parts such as door handle assemblies, light bar trim pieces and license plate tubs for the Big Three automakers — Chrysler, Ford and General Motors — along with foreign domestics such as Nissan, Honda and Infiniti.

The company molds plastic, paints it, assembles it and ships it on to the auto companies. ADAC is reorganizing its business to do all processes under one roof.

The warehouse expansion was completed and fully operating in May, giving ADAC about 280,000 square feet of space in its two Muskegon facilities. The warehouse was financed through Fifth Third Bank and built by general contractor Pioneer Construction Co.

ADAC President and CEO Jim Teets jokes that all he has to tell people wondering how he is doing is that he is an auto parts maker doing business in Michigan. These are challenging times for the industry, the state and ADAC, Teets told The Chronicle.

“We sort of have the ‘last man standing’ strategy,” Teets said of a need to keep the company stable through 2010 when projections are for auto manufacturing to begin to climb out of its current slump. Keeping business flat is a major accomplishment in these times, Teets said.

The warehousing expansion has created space for ADAC to develop a prototype “employee village” in the Keating plant, combining an employee break room with human resources offices and a training center. Teets said he expects the company to replicate the “employee village” concept in its other plants.

Currently, ADAC is using about 90 percent to 95 percent of the space it has in Muskegon. There are no current plans for any expansion but if business continues to grow, as company officials anticipate, ADAC has vacant land south of its Keating plant for future expansion.

“We are not expecting anything right now, but we are set for the future,” Teets said.