Key Safety Systems, Inc

International Directory of Company Histories, Volume 63 (1992) by Frederick Ingram

Revenues were about $1.4 billion in 2000 and 2001 and fell to $1.1 billion in 2002 and 2003. The number of employees, which peaked at 16,000 after the acquisition drive, dropped to 10,000 in 2003.

New Owners, New Name in 2003

Carlyle Management Group (CMG), an affiliate of the Washington, D.C. area investment firm, bought Breed on April 27, 2003, for a reported $300 million to $315 million. Analysts considered the acquisition a good sign for the company's long-term survival. Carlyle Management specialized in turning around troubled companies. CMG CEO Bernie Edward Ewing, a former turnaround specialist with General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin, was named CEO and chairman of Breed.

Ewing noted that Breed had been losing $50 million a year since emerging from bankruptcy. In May 2003, a restructuring was announced that aimed to cut costs by $200 million a year. Overhead was slashed, about 3,500 jobs were cut worldwide, and the company worked with suppliers to lower its material costs. Breed was reorganized into four divisions according to region and product lines: North America; Europe; Asia; and Hamlin, Inc. The Lakeland, Florida home office, which had employed 230 people, was soon closed and administrative operations moved to a suburb of Detroit. Sixty management employees were relocated.

Breed changed its name to Key Safety Systems, Inc. in October 2003, reinforcing its identity as part of Carlyle's Key Automotive Group LLC, which also included Key Plastics LLC, acquired two years earlier during its own bankruptcy. Key Automotive Group had 14,000 employees and sales of $1.7 billion.

Projects in development included a dual-stage airbag inflator and inflatable knee cushions. Breed was also working on a seat belt using a special Honeywell International fiber, Securus, designed to stretch somewhat in the event of an accident.

Principal Operating Units

North America; Europe; Asia; Hamlin, Inc.

Principal Competitors

Autoliv Inc.; Takata Corp.; TRW Automotive Inc.