Superior Industries history

In 1961 the company constructed a new, 25,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Van Nuys, and the following year it introduced its second major product, safety belts.

In 1967 Superior added plating facilities to its manufacturing operations and began producing chrome-plated steel wheels for the automotive aftermarket.

In 1968, Superior began production of chrome wheels.

In 1973, in its first major strategic acquisition, Superior paid $1.5 million to acquire Ideal Manufacturing Company, an aftermarket producer of recreational vehicle (RV) accessories--including running boards and RV trailers--with production facilities in Iowa and Canada.

Looking to expand its manufacturing capabilities for aftermarket automotive accessories, Superior opened a manufacturing facility in 1979 in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, to produce steering wheel covers and seat belts.

One month later, in September of 1980, Superior sold Ideal Manufacturing's Canadian interests.

Automobile production remained in low gear in 1981 and Superior logged its second consecutive annual deficit, with combined losses for the two-year period reaching nearly $10 million.

Superior's lightened debt load, along with new contracts for 1982 vehicle models, helped the company roll back in the black in 1982 as it earned $2.1 million on sales of nearly $70 million.

With an improved economy and production orders rising, in 1983 Superior purchased an aftermarket plant in Toronto and an OEM aluminum wheel plant in Newmarket, Ontario.

By the end of 1985, the company that was founded to produce aftermarket products was making nearly three-quarters of its sales to the OEM market.

Earnings during that time climbed from $9.4 million in 1987 to $16.1 million at the close of the decade.

The company also took steps in 1990 to rev up the profitability of its aftermarket operations by discontinuing production on several lines where sales and profits had been falling.

In 1991 Superior also opened a new aftermarket plant in West Memphis, Arkansas, which began producing chrome-plated aluminium wheels that same year.

Superior entered 1993 with plans to construct a sixth OEM plant in Chihuahua, Mexico, to serve major automobile manufacturers courting the growing Mexican automobile market.

Ralf Schmid, Günther Schmid’s son, founded ALUTEC Leichtmetallfelgen in 1996.

In 1998, ALUTEC acquired RIAL Leichtmetallfelgen, another of Germany’s most prominent wheel and rim producers.

In February of 2008, UNIWHEELS bought back the European activities of the ATS Group with a parent plant in Werdohl, Germany.

Uniwheels AG’s Initial Public Offering took place in May of 2015 on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.