AIAG, meanwhile, is a not-for-profit organization, founded in 1982, that allows its 1,600 members a way to cooperate in developing and promoting solutions for common problems in the auto industry. The group's board of directors includes representatives from General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler with the newest board members officially joining on August 20 from Honda of America Manufacturing and Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America.
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| Honda of America Manufacturing and Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America are the latest AIAG members. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press) |
This shows that AIAG has the support of many of the major North American Auto Manufacturers, although Volkswagen dropped out of the AIAG several years ago. And, AIAG holds an annual conference and exhibition at Detroit's Cobo Conference Center, Auto-Tech 2003 on August 26-29, but again it is one of many such venues held in the Motor City during a given year. (For further details on Auto-Tech, see below).
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| The AIAG currently has the support of most of the big North Americian Auto Manufacturers, with the exception of Volkswagen who dropped out years ago. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
What makes AIAG different, Cummins said, is that it is the only place in the world where automotive manufacturers and suppliers can sit together at the same table, to solve issues in the automotive industry. It works in partnership with other organizations like the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA) and the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) to identify and find solutions to common problems.
"There are some 1,000 people who come through our doors and they are OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers a.k.a. the automakers) and suppliers and vendor companies--like IBM and Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, and other high tech companies," Cummins said. "Every single day at AIAG, OEMs and suppliers sit down at a table and deal with the issues facing the industry."