Auto parts manufacturer Cormaplast has filed a criminal complaint in Mexico alleging extortion against French auto parts giant Forvia, accusing the company of corruption and tortious interference.
The complaint was filed on Dec. 15, 2023 with the prosecutor’s office of the state of Puebla, the town where Cormaplast is based, 75 miles southeast of Mexico City.
Globe Banner has learned that the complaint alleges Forvia executives threatened to terminate the company’s contract with Cormaplast unless it agreed to merge with Decatur Plastic Products, a competitor based in North Vernon, Indiana.
The complaint alleges Forvia threatened to “bankrupt” Cormaplast if its board of directors didn’t agree to the Decatur Plastic Products merger.
Sources tell Globe Banner that the Attorney General's office of the State of Puebla has issued an injunction that prevents proprietary custom molds and toolings used in manufacturing auto parts for Forvia from being moved out of the Cormaplast plant.
Cormaplast, which produces and exports molded plastic parts and specializes in auto assembly, has been a subcontractor to Forvia since 2012. The company has 400 employees and was founded in 1998.
Founded in 1983, Decatur Plastic Products (DPP), makes custom injection molded plastic parts for automotive interiors and consumer markets.
Forvia, the world’s seventh-largest auto parts maker, counts Ford, General Motors and Stellantis as its largest North American customers.
In 2022, Reuters reported Forvia’s North American sales were about $650 million per year.
In 2019, DPP invested a reported $11.4 million in expanding its Indiana plant, according to a report in Plastics’ News. The company, which also has a production facility in Gadsden, Alabama, counts Forvia, PK USA and Heartland Automotive as clients.
DPP has 285 employees in the U.S.