MANISTEE — As an original equipment manufacturer for vehicle lighting, Myotek officials in Manistee have kept a close eye on the unfolding situation in Detroit.
United Auto Workers struck a tentative deal on a new contract Monday, ending the union’s six-week strike against General Motors, Ford and Jeep-manufacturer, Stellantis.
Myotek vice president Robert Nash said that preparations were made before the strike began with walkouts in September.
“Mid-year we knew there was a strong possibility of the upcoming UAW action and started to prepare a risk mitigation plan,” Nash said.
The union began targeted strikes against all three automakers on Sept. 15 after its contracts with the companies expired. At the peak, about 46,000 workers were on strike against all three companies, about one-third of the union’s 146,000 members at the Detroit Three.
The strikes against GM, Ford and Stellantis are expected to cut their pretax earnings by around $2.9 billion, according to Associated Press reports.
The impact of those strikes are being felt far outside Detroit.
In Manistee, Myotek manufactures printed circuit board assemblies, electronic assemblies and LED lighting solutions for automotive and commercial industries.
The UAW strike affected two of Myotek Manistee’s production lines, according to Nash.
“Because of our preparation and our product mix, we were able (to) flex our team members and maintain their employment throughout the strike,” he said.
Formerly Amptech, the Luxit Group company was named Large Business of the Year at the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2023 Business Awards Gala in March.
Myotek has an engineering center in Irvine California, with manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, China and Manistee. Myotek sales and service offices are located in Farmington Hills.
In 2018, Myotek came to Manistee when it purchased Amptech, which had previously occupied its space at 201 Glocheski Drive. They also own a warehouse building next to the plant; between the two buildings there is about 70,000 square feet of workspace.
In the automotive field, Amptech manufactures mostly LED lighting, including fog lamps, and hitch lights — or the tailgate lights — on vehicles, such as the Dodge Ram and Ford F-150 pickup trucks.
Products made at the Myotek Manistee facility also include LED spot lamps for first responders and conveyor drive units for Fed-Ex, Amazon and Walmart.
Nash said that if the strike expanded into a plant that would affect Myotek production in Manistee, plans were in place to shift employees to other customer products.
Now with the strike ending, Nash says that Myotek is looking to increase its workforce in Manistee.
“In two weeks, Myotek Manistee will start to hire additional team members to support our upcoming launches,” Nash said.
The company currently employs around 80 workers at the Manistee facility.
Associated press reporter Colleen Barry contributed to this report.
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