Oneda and Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems Work Together to Develop a Long-Term Solution for a Large Automotive OEM

Three years ago, Oneda Corporation, a machine shop and metal stamping manufacturer serving the automobile industry, had the opportunity to work on a multi-year project with Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems, a manufacturer of automotive wiring harnesses. The project was to develop and produce a tow bracket that would hold the electronics and become a connection point for the brakes and lights between the truck and trailer system for a large automotive Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).

The two companies, with differing skill sets, began collaborating at the initial design stage, to ensure that the part they were creating could be implemented on-time and on-budget and wouldn’t generate additional expenses downstream. The two companies designed and developed multiple iterations of the part, working together on not just the design phase, but also throughout the metal stamping and assembly stage of the product. Due to their proximity, as the companies were located 125 miles from each other, with Oneda in Columbus, Georgia and Sumitomo in Pell City, Alabama, parts were able to be quickly sent from one location to the next for convenient testing throughout each stage of the process.

Oneda and Sumitomo then went above and beyond the initial request of the OEM to create a way that guarantees the operator properly places the cover on the electrical distribution box during final assembly.

Throughout this project, Oneda has delivered more than 775,000 parts to Sumitomo, creating a longstanding partnership not only with each other but with the OEM.

“Our company has worked with Oneda quite a bit and it’s a great, cooperative relationship. They are the experts in metal stamping and brackets and guided us on how many welds were needed and where to weld so that as the go-between, we could easily explain it to the OEM.”

- Charlie Depp, project manager, Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems