Germany's Kiekert shows how small suppliers thrive in a tough world

In a world in which unpredictable trade wars, revolutionary technology changes, relentless competition and constant customer pressures are the norms, auto suppliers have nowhere left to hide.

They must succeed globally, but compete like hell locally. They must bend over backward for their customers' often unpredictable production needs. They must produce perfection in their manufacturing processes. And then, just when their automakers are happy, the customer could always form a partnership, merger or joint venture designed to — guess what? — reduce the cost of components and technology.

How does a supplier grow amid all this? Innovation.

There are many great examples, as the Automotive News PACE Awards demonstrate every year. One lesser-known supplier, Kiekert, offers a compelling case study.

Kiekert's corporate roots date back more than 160 years in Germany. It still has a German name, but in 2012 it was quietly acquired by China's Hebei Lingyun Industrial Group Corp. It has a manufacturing hub in Puebla, Mexico, to support its growing business on this continent, which accounts for more than a third of its global volume.

This supplier also offers a relatively narrow product line, primarily light vehicle door latches, which at first glance seem at risk for being turned into a humble commodity. Its competitors include diversified Canadian supplier Magna International and Germany's Brose Group.

So when trade dramas break out between the U.S. and China, Mexico or Europe, Kiekert faces exposure along with its many customers, which make up 60 brands globally. About a third of the world's light vehicles use a Kiekert product or design. The company is doing business with every automaker in North America. This includes the Detroit 3 and Tesla Inc., according to data from IHS Markit.

Mike Hietbrink, 45, general manager of Kiekert USA, and Hector Verde, 52, head of product development for the Americas, are caught in this vortex. Their team's mission is innovation.

During a recent demonstration with a Volvo XC60 crossover in the lobby of Kiekert's r&d center in Wixom, Michigan, about 25 miles northwest of Detroit, they showed off an impressive array of new latch technologies that keep Kiekert's business fresh.

The mindset? Door latches need to be adapted to the world of electric and autonomous cars. Several new products reflect this, including an all-electronic group of latch technologies called NuEntry.

But other products are simpler. One latch product, called Active Inertia, uses physics and engineering to ensure that a door opens with a normal pull, but remains locked when pulled violently — a safety measure designed to keep a door closed during an accident.

Kiekert is under strict customer restrictions on disclosures, so it can't say which automaker is interested in which product. Some of these products seem destined for applications among luxury brands.

In all, Kiekert now holds more than 2,500 patents, up from about 2,000 in 2017.

The results speak for themselves. Kiekert continues to grow in North America. Its customer base from the Wixom operation expects to generate about $71 million in sales this year and $76 million in 2020, up from $40 million in 2017. Production volume has more than doubled over that time. In total, the supplier's NAFTA business generated 35.5 percent of the company's $1 billion in global revenue last year, up from 28-29 percent a few years ago.

Kiekert will no doubt need to keep its innovation pipeline robust in the next few years to sustain this kind of growth. Its story demonstrates what's required today to make it in the light-vehicle parts market.