Plymouth Township to Lose 750 Jobs in ACH Sale

Plymouth Township will lose about 750 jobs with the sale of operations at the Automotive Components Holdings plant at 14425 Sheldon Road, according to the Plymouth Observer, but with the sale comes opportunities to redevelop the plant site.

The company, which manufactures heating and air conditioning components for Ford vehicles, was sold to Detroit Thermal Systems LLC, a joint venture between France-based parts supplier Valeo and V. Johnson Enterprises LLC, owned by former Detroit Pistons star Vincent (Vinnie) Johnson, according to a news release Monday. The operations now will be based out of Romulus, the news release indicated.

According to the Observer, of the 750 workers now at the plant, about 650 are hourly and 100 salaried.

Site has redevelopment possibilities

Plymouth Township Supervisor Richard Reaume told the Observer the move could mean the plant site will be sold and repurposed after 2014, indicating the move could be a positive for the township.

Already, residents are excited about potential uses once the site is cleaned and redeveloped, especially given the site's proximity to the M-14 expressway.

Patch reader "Mike" said he would like the site repurposed to lure some baseball to the township.

"For years I've pictured a mixed use area on that site, anchored by a minor league baseball stadium," he said in a story comment Tuesday. "Surrounding the stadium would be urban style retail/commercial with apartments above and townhomes. Easy highway access makes that site prime."

Another Patch reader, "ecnalubma," warned in a comment on a follow-up story Wednesday that the site's redevelopment could be delayed by cleaning efforts.

"But when it is done," he said, "I can see a huge retail, multi-family complex because of the easy M-14 access."