Decoma International Inc. (Concord, Ontario / Canada; www.decoma.com), part of Canada´s Magna (Aurora, Ontario / Canada; www.magnaint.com) automotive supply group, has completed internal stocktaking of its European sites and has now decided to consolidate operations. Decoma mainly produces front and rear ends, plastic car body parts and lighting systems. The Decoform (D-66280 Sulzbach/ Saar) paint line at Sulzbach is to be mothballed, with the loss of 250 jobs, and the painted trim and fasica business transferred to the group´s newer paint lines at Decorate (D-66280 Sulzbach/Saar) and Belplas Industries NV (B-3600 Genk).

A new coating line for plastic parts was added at Belplas – primarily a manufacturer of bumper systems – in October 2002. Other operations including raw part moulding and assembly will remain at Decoform. At the same time, the production of panel sections for the Ford model “Freelander 2600” will be moved from the Sybex site (GB-OX 16 1TR Banbury, Oxon) to the facility at Merplas (GB-L24 9PL Halewood, Liverpool), which is closer to the Ford assembly line. In 2002, the Decoma Group posted sales of around USD 2.1 bn and net profit of USD 93m. Around 28% of sales are generated in Europe, the rest in North America. Of the 35 production facilities, 11 are in Europe.