February 14, 2008 -- American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AAM), which is traded as AXL on the NYSE, today announced plans to establish a new manufacturing facility in Thailand, near the city of Rayong, located southeast of Bangkok.

AAM has acquired approximately 21 acres in an industrial park in the Rayong Province for the construction a 90,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art, wholly-owned regional manufacturing plant for its highly engineered driveline products.

It is anticipated that the groundbreaking for this facility will occur in late spring of 2008, with preliminary production planned for 2009. Joseph S. Tang has been appointed plant manager to oversee the construction, build the organization, and be responsible for the future operation of the facility.

"Our new facility in Thailand represents a significant expansion of our manufacturing footprint in the important economy of Asia where growing demand for vehicles is accelerating production volumes," says AAM Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO Richard E. Dauch. "AAM is continuing to invest in products and markets where we can best serve our customers and have the opportunity to drive profitable growth."

The manufacturing facility will be located in the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate that is locally recognized as "Detroit of the East" for its heavy population of automotive OEMs and suppliers. The location is strategically located in proximity to key seaports and will provide excellent geographic access to vehicle manufacturers throughout the region.

AAM's current Asia operations include a manufacturing facility in Changshu, China along with business and engineering offices in Tokyo, Japan; Shanghai, China; Pune, India; and Seoul, South Korea.

AAM is a world leader in the manufacture, engineering, design and validation of driveline and drivetrain systems and related components and modules, chassis systems and metal-formed products for trucks, sport utility vehicles, passenger cars and crossover utility vehicles. In addition to locations in the United States (Michigan, New York, Ohio and Indiana), AAM also has offices or facilities in Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Poland, South Korea and the United Kingdom.

Certain statements contained in this press release which are not historical facts contain forward-looking information with respect to the Company's plans, projections or future performance, the occurrence of which involves risk and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results or plans to differ materially from those expected by the Company which include risk factors described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

URL: www.aam.com  

Source: PR Newswire (U.S.)