But the reality is:
Autolive is marketing them to Chrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. SMU has been check mated by autoliv as they produce and control the heart of the device, the inflators. The seat division is crippled by managers which will not admit their production management failures, and the rail business is up for sale. SMU is having major troubles getting anyone else to commit to a system which requires an antagonistic supplier for the heart of the auxaliary but most important product. These are systems for sale. You wonder who at SMU is the manager of strategic planning.
Nice Job Simula!
Might as well go to court and cry foul.
Nov 3 1998 7:04PM - Bloomberg News
Simula Sues Autoliv Over Patent for Side-Impact Safety Devices
Simula Sues Autoliv Over Patent for Side-Impact Safety Devices
Wilmington, Delaware, Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Autoliv Inc., the world's largest maker of air bags, was sued by smaller rival Simula Inc., which claims Autoliv is using its patented technology
for inflatable side-impact automobile safety devices.
In a suit filed today in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, Phoenix-based Simula claims Stockholm-based Autoliv -- with 50 subsidiaries and factories in 26 countries -- illegally
used an invention patented by Simula in 1994. The patent was for an ''inflatable curtain,'' stored around a car-door window frame, that deploys during a side impact and remains
semi-rigid to protect motorists from head injuries.
Simula says in the suit that Autoliv is wrongly supplying the devices for use in cars such as Daimler-Benz AG's Mercedes and Volvo AB's Volvo brands, and has offered to sell them to
Chrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp.
Autoliv and its subsidiaries ''have unlawfully copied Simula's invention...despite their knowledge of the patent'' and ''will continue to cause Simula substantial damage'' unless stopped by
court order, the suit says. Simula also asks a judge to award damages and costs.
The No. 1 maker of automotive safety devices, Autoliv has about 17,800 employees worldwide, with 1997 sales of about $3 billion, according to the suit. Simula, which makes auto,
aircraft, ship and rail safety devices, reported sales of $90.4 million in 1997.
Officials at Autoliv's U.S. unit in Ogden, Utah would not comment on the suit. Autoliv shares fell 1/4 to 35 3/16 today in New York. Autoliv's Swedish depositary receipts rose 1 krona to 277
in Stockholm. Simula shares were unchanged today at 5 3/4. --Phil Milford in Wilmington, Delaware (302) 984-3373, through the Washington, D.C. newsroom (202) 624-1917/rad Story
illustration: To graph Simula's recent stock performance, type SMU US |
