Michigan auto parts company pivots facility plans due to tariff impact
Key Highlights
- Auburn Hills-based Lucerne International abandons Detroit greenfield facility plans originally expected to create 300-plus jobs
- The company cites tariffs as partially responsible for $3 million increase in equipment costs, pushing total investment from $8-$9 million higher
- Lucerne CEO says broad tariff approach creates challenges rather than supporting domestic manufacturing goals
- The company is now seeking existing facilities in the U.S., with one potential location still in Michigan, but outside Detroit
- Lucerne manufactures car and truck parts for companies like Stellantis, and currently does significant overseas production in China
An Auburn Hills-based auto parts manufacturer has pivoted away from plans to build a new Detroit facility, citing tariffs as a contributing factor to rising project costs. Lucerne International, which makes car and truck parts for companies like Stellantis, had planned a greenfield forging plant in Detroit that would have created more than 300 jobs. The company currently conducts significant manufacturing overseas, including in China.
The project's equipment costs have increased by approximately $3 million from the original $8-$9 million investment estimate, according to CEO Buchzeiger, who cited tariffs as partially responsible for the cost escalation.
"Quite a while ago, we said, OK, you know, we need to onshore, and we need to start producing here in the U.S., bring some manufacturing back home," Buchzeiger told CBS News Detroit.
"Our equipment, roughly, originally, it was somewhere between an $8-$9 million investment in the equipment alone, and that's went up so far, from what we can tell, close to $3 million in the business plan, which is a lot."
Instead of the Detroit greenfield project, Lucerne is now actively seeking existing U.S. facilities that don't require ground-up construction.
"We're looking at a location that's already there, has the infrastructure or something that we can move into," Buchzeiger said. "We are chasing down a couple of real, viable opportunities. One is still in Michigan, just not in Detroit."
While supporting the concept of rebuilding domestic manufacturing capabilities, Buchzeiger criticized the current tariff approach as counterproductive.
"Taking this broad approach of just spraying, you know, tariffs everywhere, I think, is detrimental, quite frankly, to businesses, and at the end of the day, it's the American consumer that pays those tariffs," Buchzeiger said. "This really isn't just a Lucerne story. This is an everybody story, right? These tariffs and all of these changes, they impact everybody, far and wide."
The company's experience reflects broader challenges facing manufacturers attempting to reshore operations amid the current tariff environment.