Allied-Signal Automotive said it will buy Ford Motor Co.'s spark-plug manufacturing plant in Tre-forest, South Wales, and become Ford's sole supplier of spark plugs in North America and Europe.
The purchase price for the plant Ford has operated for 20 years was not disclosed.AlliedSignal already supplies all of Ford's spark plugs in North America under the Autolite and Motorcraft brand names. Allied-Signal produces more than 250 million spark plugs annually in the United States.
The sale has been agreed in principle and is subject to completion approval by AlliedSignal's board of directors.
The Treforest plant has about 330 employees and currently makes 30 million spark plugs a year, primarily for Ford vehicles in Europe.
It is Ford's only spark-plug manufacturing facility worldwide and is part of Ford's Automotive Components Division. Ford acquired the plant in 1973 from Smiths Industries.
Ford spokesman Frank Macher said the sale was part of Ford's consolidation of purchasing agreements with automotive suppliers.