Plastic travel, eh?

Canada is embracing plastics for travel.

The federal government announced May 10 that it is updating the design of its passport to improve security. The design also will use a polycarbonate sheet on the page with the Canadian's personal information, which will "last longer and is less likely to be damaged by water than before," according to a news release. The personal information will be laser engraved on the page, rather than using ink on paper.

The PC also will be embedded with an electronic passport chip to better detect tampering attempts.

Other security features will use color-shifting ink, temperature-sensitive ink, 3D images, a see-through window and laser images.

When I first started covering plastics suppliers to the auto industry some 20 years ago, suppliers liked to define themselves as makers of modules or systems rather than simply parts. (Or, worst of all, as "providing solutions," a term I still hate because it does absolutely nothing to define what you make.)

They'd say they were a "Tier 0.5 supplier," sitting in a vital space between the automaker and the rest of the supply base.

An element of those claims was true, briefly, before automakers reclaimed some control. But Kurt Nagl from our sister paper Crain's Detroit Business writes that now the opportunity to complete modules is becoming reality.

Carmakers focusing on developing new drivetrains and production for electric vehicles are increasingly relying on suppliers for key parts that aren't dependent on whether a car is powered by electricity or gasoline.

"An automaker typically purchases about 70 percent of a vehicle from suppliers and provides 30 percent of the value in-house," Kurt writes. "Automakers have tightly controlled the supply chain since the Great Recession, which sent them on a survival mission to drive down costs wherever possible. But micromanaging is no longer a viable strategy when speed and innovation are now the keys to survival."

Auto seating supplier Adient plc is just one example of a company finding more freedom.

"Some of our customers have gone fully back and said no, I'm just going to source you the complete system," Adient CEO Doug DelGrosso said. "You'll present us how you're going to source the subcomponents, but I'm ultimately going to leave that decision to you."

Bruce Smith, the chairman and CEO of auto supplier Detroit Manufacturing Systems, has been named an Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 finalist for Michigan and northwest Ohio.

Detroit-based DMS does assembly and subassembly of auto parts and has 34 injection molding presses ranging in size from 180 to 2,500 tons of capacity.

E&Y's Entrepreneur of the Year competition is in its 37th year. Smith was selected by an independent panel of judges, E&Y said in a May 11 news release.

"Entrepreneurs were evaluated based on their demonstration of building long-term value through entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth and impact, among other core contributions and attributes," the consulting group said.

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