In the 1980s, Vinnie Johnson was at the top of his game as the sixth man for the Detroit Pistons.
"The Microwave," along with star players Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars, were part of the Bad Boys era of the franchise, with Johnson making the winning shot in the 1990 NBA finals against the Portland Trail Blazers, scoring Detroit’s second straight NBA title.
Taking his basketball roots with him, Johnson is now the CEO of Piston Group, one of the largest private, minority-owned automotive suppliers in North America.
Johnson founded the company in 1995 and became a supplier for large automotive companies like General Motors and Ford.
Piston Group has since rapidly expanded in the past 26 years, becoming a supplier for not only those auto companies, but for Honda, Stellantis and Toyota. As of 2019, the manufacturer’s worldwide sales to automakers totaled $2.85 billion.
The Southfield, Michigan-based company employs more than 10,000 across its four subsidiaries, which includes Piston Automotive, Irvin Products and Detroit Thermal Systems. Piston Group is also beginning to break out of the automotive industry with the acquisitions of Airea, an office design studio and furniture dealer and more recently, A. Lava and Son, a bedding cover manufacturer.
The company has also expanded outside of Michigan, opening facilities in Ohio, Missouri, and Kentucky. In 2019, Piston Group opened a location in Marion.
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Creating opportunity in Marion
Piston Group made the move to central Ohio after acquiring Marion Industries. Johnson said via email that the company wanted to expand its presence in Ohio and that Marion was a "natural fit."
"Culturally, Piston Automotive and Marion Industries shared a dedication to customers by creating value throughout the assembly process and providing world class products," he said. "The acquisition of Marion Industries supported our mission, while leveraging Piston Automotive’ s process design and product assembly expertise and enhanced our customer diversification to include Honda of America."
Johnson said the Marion facility has 210 employees and ships parts to Honda plants in Ohio, Indiana and Canada. Vehicles the plant help create include the Honda Accord, Civic, CRV and Insight, as well as the Acura ILX, RDX, TLX and MDX. Auto parts often include the front and rear steering knuckle assemblies, console panel and the wheel hub assembly.
Partnership with Honda
Recently, Piston Group worked with Honda to supply parts for the 2021 Acura TLX, which debuted in September.
The sport sedan has its own platform designed for higher performance and improved styling, with the interior including a knob in the middle of the instrument panel that allows drivers to shift modes based on road conditions and driving habits.
Now the automaker and supplier are working on the Acura MDX. Rolling out last month, the fourth-generation MDX will serve as the new flagship of Honda's luxury brand.
The new model, the first redesign since 2015, has more legroom and headroom for those seating in the third row while still providing enough space for a stroller or a bag of golf clubs in the rear, reported the Columbus Dispatch. It can seat seven.
The interior has new technology, new premium materials and more standard features such as a larger center display, Amazon's Alexa and internet.
The MDX and the TLX are built exclusively in Ohio.
"During development, they play a key role in designing the assembly line, which includes a lot of automation as well as labor to do the assembly," said Bob Zabor, the department manager for North American Automotive Purchasing at Honda of America.
"They work with our engineers here to make sure they are doing that according to our specifications, but it's really up to them to execute that line so it's ready for mass production."
In addition, Piston Group is responsible for managing the supply chain for other auto parts. Zabor said it may not be parts the company manufactures but are assembled into the final product.
Zabor said Honda wanted to partner with Piston Group due to their history of working with other automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the area.
"The single thing we were most excited about was for them to bring that capability, their experience with other manufacturers to see how they could improve and bring added value to our line," he said. "Their experience was really impressive."
Meanwhile, Johnson said having a strong team at Piston Group makes his job as CEO easier.
"As one of the largest minority-owned companies in the U.S., we strive to be the supplier of choice for all OEMs by creating value and achieving excellence at every level of execution through a combination of experience, expertise and a deep seeded passion for what we do," he said.
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February 28, 2021 at 05:30PM
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Black-owned auto manufacturer makes parts for Honda at Marion plant - Marion Star
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