Inside Behr's wood-trim plant - Behr Industries Corp

Automotive Industries, Sept, 1998 by Mark Phelan

Boards come in and interiors go out at North America's only integrated wood-trim manufacturing plant.

Just outside Grand Rapids, Mich.-- self-described furniture capital of the world -- 450 skilled workers combine old-world craftsmanship with computer technology to produce wood interior trim for some of the most exclusive vehicles built in North America. Using trained eyes, hand-painting touch-up and CNC cutting machines, Behr Industries Corp. turns out trim pieces for vehicles ranging from the BMW Z3 to the Cadillac DeVille, Lincoln Continental and Freightliner heavy trucks. The German-based supplier opened the U.S. plant in 1990 and recently invited AI to take a look at how it works.

* Cadillac trim uses a top layer of "zebrano" (zebra-like) wood from tropical Africa. Less expensive, stronger woods such as poplar and beech are used for the inner layers. Behr cross-grains layers of veneer for strength, and also attaches the foil nameplate.

* The wood supply (left) for the Mercedes M-Class center console, which uses the most veneers of any part made by Behr. Each console consists of 22 layers of a variety of 0.5mm-thick slices of wood. Workers apply glue (left, middle) between the layers and put the part in a 300 degree F press to shape and bond it (left, bottom). The M-Class console spends 10 minutes in the press, longer than any other part in the plant.

* Bundles of veneer are shipped from a mill in Cincinnati. Behr chooses its wood stock, and the mill cuts and ships to order The veneer must be stored in a humid environment -- and sometimes hand-rubbed with e damp sponge -- before it can be formed. Automotive interiors use what is considered a medium-to-low grade of veneer, which is easier to shape than wood used in architecture and furniture.

* A wide range of finished parts come from Behr's plant. CNC machines produce die-cuts in the pieces. Finishes range from high-fashion bright colors for 500-unit runs of BMW Z3s for sale in Europe (foreground) to traditional luxury wood finishes. Behr even uses its tooling to make some parts with aluminum surfaces over wooden substrates (middle). A raw sample of "birdseye" maple veneer awaits the manufacturing process (rear).