HUSCO International Inc.
2239 Pewaukee Road, Waukesha
www.huscointl.com
Industry: Manufacturing
Employees: 1,350
2014 annual revenue: $375 million
The automotive industry is locked in a constant battle to achieve the best in fuel efficiency – traveling more miles per gallon, while also reducing fuel emissions. Waukesha-based HUSCO International took notice of the trend and expanded its automotive business in response. The shift has allowed the company to achieve exponential growth over the past five years.
Since 2010, HUSCO has tripled its global sales and added several fuel efficiency-improving products to its portfolio.
“The expansion of our automotive business is the biggest driver of our growth,” said Austin Ramirez, HUSCO International president and chief executive officer.
The company works directly with original equipment manufacturers to design and build products that are integrated into larger systems in the automotive and off-highway mobile equipment markets.
“We custom design our products to match our customer needs,” Ramirez said.
The company entered the automotive industry in the 1990s with suspension products for Mercedes Benz, Ramirez said.
Because of its business model, HUSCO was poised to take advantage of the industry shift toward fuel efficiency.
“We targeted (fuel efficiency) as an area for growth,” Ramirez said. “It’s been a key theme in the industry for a long time. We already had customers and products in that space, so we were able to respond to their needs for fuel-efficient products.”
HUSCO Automotive designs and manufactures the enabling components for several new automotive technologies, including: variable valve timing, cylinder deactivation, advanced transmissions and oil pump controls – all products that enable the automotive industry to reach new levels of fuel efficiency and emission standards.
According to company statistics, “the fuel saved by HUSCO components produced in 2014 will exceed the total fuel savings generated by every plug-in electric vehicle on the road today.”
“We’re hoping to continue our success in that space,” Ramirez said. “Our relationship with American automakers is strong and continues to grow, and we plan to market to more European automakers in the future.”
According to Ramirez, the company’s next factory expansion is likely to be in eastern Europe in order to improve on those relationships.
HUSCO currently makes automotive components for Ford, GM, Chrysler and Fiat.
The Ramirez family has owned and operated the firm since 1985. The business culture and the employees ultimately drive the business, Ramirez said.
“The culture and the unwritten rules of the way we operate is key to our business success,” he said. “Our sense of innovation and our willingness to take risks is strategically important to the business, but just as important is the ability to hire terrific people and motivate them accordingly. Our employees take a lot of pride in what we do.”
