Fueling growth

When Ravinder Sandhu and his family
assumed management control of
Advanced Assembly Products Inc. in 1991, the company was nearly bankrupt.
With just one client at the time — Chrysler
— Sandhu began focusing on people, quality
and growth, and the family obtained ownership control in 1993.

To grow the business
— an auto supplier
specializing in hinges,
brackets and hangers
for consoles, fuel
tanks and doors —

Sandhu first improved
the product and delivery for his lone client, then began making
acquisitions and gaining new customers.
However, with those acquisitions came the
difficulty of integrating cultures. Sandhu
believed it was imperative to break down the
barriers between different facilities and unite
them. And to encourage his employees, more
than half of whom are minorities, he began
investing in them through extensive training,
consistently providing new opportunities to
learn. He is also investing in his company,
providing more effective tools and machines,
with the philosophy that better-trained
employees with better tools are going to provide a better product.

As the company continues to grow,
Sandhu says overseas competition is his
most pressing issue, but feels AAP’s nimbleness and ability to react to customers’
needs position it to continue growing. The
company has developed a partnership with
the state of Michigan in research and development that has resulted in new and innovative technologies, and has developed
automation and assembly equipment to
ensure that its products exceed customer
expectations and quality standards.

Going forward, Sandhu plans to continue
to diversify AAP’s product capabilities and
customer base and to foster sustainability
in the turbulent auto industry.

HOW TO REACH: Advanced Assembly Products Inc., (248) 543-2427