The September announcement that Reyes Automotive Group was entering into a joint venture with International Automotive Components (IAC) Group marked good news for the TMASC region’s growing industry connections.
The new company, Reyes Automotive Group II (RAG II), will operate out of the existing 90,000 square foot facility on-site at San Antonio’s Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas, Inc. (TMMTX) assembly plant. RAG II will maintain its existing number of approximately 200 employees as it supplies injection and blow molded interior trim components, as well as sequence and assembly services, for TMMTX’s Tundra and Tacoma pickup trucks. RAG II is owned 51% by Reyes Holdings and 49% by IAC, and the joint venture will apply for Minority Business Enterprise certification.
While the RAG II joint venture is officially IAC’s first facility in Texas, Reyes Automotive Group has been an on-site supplier to TMMTX from the beginning when it began as a 51/49 joint venture with Tier I automotive supplier Lear. Lear’s presence at TMMTX provided a root to the most recent relationship with IAC Group, as IAC had acquired the North American Interior Systems of Lear in 2007 as part of IAC Group’s expansion into North America.
Before IAC Group entered into the JV with Reyes Group last month, it was already the top ranked North American injection molder for the automotive industry as measured by sales. IAC Group is headquartered in Luxembourg and has a Who’s Who of global customers, including such brands familiar to the TMASC region such as Toyota; GM, Cadillac and Chevrolet; Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat; Navistar, and Saab.
IAC Group’s North American offices are in Southfield, Michigan, and headed by James Kamsickas. As IAC Group’s Co-CEO & President North America & Asia, James Kamsickas brings a reach and perspective well-matched to a TMASC automotive region with important ties to Asia, NAFTA and the greater North American markets.