Who Are Ford's Main Suppliers?

Some of the key suppliers for Ford Motor Company (F) include Flex-N-Gate Seeburn, NHK Spring, and Valeo Electric and Electronic Systems.

Ford, one of the original auto manufacturers, incorporated in 1903 and is now a multinational auto manufacturer. The company remains headquartered in Dearborn, Mich., just outside of Detroit. In addition to the main Ford brand, Ford sells luxury vehicles under its Lincoln brand. From 1938 until 2011, Ford also produced the Mercury brand, which was a mid-level hybrid between Ford and Lincoln, producing slightly more upscale versions of some Ford models and slightly downscaled versions of Lincoln vehicles.

Ford was founded by its namesake, Henry Ford, who is noteworthy not only for the cars he manufactured but for the process by which he manufactured them. Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly line production method, which was soon copied by other automakers and by hundreds of other large-scale manufacturing firms. Ford's manufacturing methods became so widely known that the term "Fordism" was actually coined to describe them.

Ford’s Key Suppliers

Ford is currently the second-largest U.S. auto manufacturer behind General Motors (GM). It is also, as of 2020, the sixth largest best-selling auto brand in Europe. The company has made a significant push to expand into other developed nations and also into emerging market countries—such as Russia, where it has forged a joint venture partnership with the creation of Ford Sollers.

Ford went public in 1956, but the Ford family retains a 40% interest in the company owning special Class B stock shares. Even though the shares constitute a minority interest in the company, they are still sufficient to give the Ford family effective control of the company.

Ford's main parts suppliers, along with the parts they supply, are as follows:

• Flex-N-Gate Seeburn - Ontario, Canada: door hinges and arms.
• NHK Spring - Shiga-ken, Japan: suspension stabilizer linkages.
• U-Shin Europe - Komárom-Esztergom, Hungary: steering columns.
• Valeo Electric and Electronic Systems - Czechowice-Dziedzice, Poland: starter assemblies.
• Webasto Roof & Components - Schierling, Germany: sliding sunroofs.
• Summit Plastics - Nanjing, China: instrument panel components.
• Dee Zee - Des Moines, Iowa: running boards.
• Warn Industries -Clackamas, Oregon: axle assemblies.
• Chaidneme - Bogota, Colombia: mufflers and exhaust systems.
• Autoliv - Stockholm, Sweden: airbags

Other major parts suppliers for Ford include Comstar Automotive Technologies, FCC Adams, Flextronics Automotive, and Mahle Engine Components. Meanwhile, some indirect suppliers include Cisco (CSCO), FedEx (FDX), Penske Logistics, Roush, and Union Pacific.