Driven by innovation and customer satisfaction, Accuride Corporation is raising the standards of wheel production
With a rich legacy spanning 40 years, Accuride Corporation (Accuride) stands as North America’s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicle wheels and components. Founded in 1986 to acquire the wheelmaking division of Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, Accuride’s early growth was shaped by Bain Capital, and since then, the business has continuously set new benchmarks in performance, innovation, durability, and operational strength. Like all organizations, over the years, the company has experienced macro and socioeconomic challenges, but in early 2025, it emerged from Chapter 11 restructuring as a stronger financial entity focused on its core wheels business – bigger, better, and on a new trajectory of growth and success.
Today, Accuride is a trusted leader in the design, manufacture, and supply of industry-leading steel and aluminum wheels for the commercial vehicle industry. From its state-of-the-art headquarters in Livonia, Michigan, the company remains driven by its commitment to engineering excellence, safety, and customer satisfaction, and continues to serve OEMs, fleets, and aftermarket distributors as the only single source of lightweight steel and forged aluminum wheels. As Accuride embarks on a new era of growth and sustained innovation, Manufacturing Today sits down with Joseph Brodzinksi, Vice President of Operations (Wheels), and Skotti Fietsam, Global Senior Vice President of Supply Chain and CIO, to learn more about the forces driving its evolution and continued success.
“Accuride’s recent growth is driven by several key factors. The company has made a strategic shift from survival to focused North American growth, supported by new ownership that injected capital and stabilized finances, enabling reinvestments in the businesses that generate the strongest returns,” Skotti begins. “Accuride is capturing market share gains through stronger commercial execution; improving pricing, upselling product‑enhancing features, and leveraging innovation such as new products like ProShield XGT™, all of which contribute incremental revenue. Finally, a recovering commercial vehicle market has expanded demand after several difficult years, lifting volumes organically.”
Building on this momentum, Accuride’s ProShield XGT™ stands out as a key example of how the company is enhancing product performance and creating additional value for its customers.
“ProShield XGT™ is a patent‑pending metal conversion process that chemically bonds a protective layer into the aluminum microstructure of the wheel,” Joseph explains. “Because the protection is built into the metal (not just applied on top), it prevents the most common and damaging failure: filiform corrosion. The metal‑conversion process creates a hydrophobic surface, causing water, oils, and contaminants to bead and roll off, meaning the wheels can be cleaned with just soap and water.”
This focus on advanced surface protection with ProShield XGT™ is just one facet of Accuride’s broader in-novation strategy. Beyond coating technologies, the company is also investing heavily in material science and manufacturing advancements to further enhance wheel performance, durability, and efficiency across its product portfolio.
“Accuride continuously reviews new technologies and their potential transition into our manufacturing and engineering design processes. Recent and upcoming projects include new heat treatment and aluminum aging schedules, made possible by the proprietary aluminum alloy we’ve developed,” Joseph elaborates. “Through exhaustive alloy development optimized for Accuride aluminum wheels, our process has resulted in significant strength and durability improvements. These processes have allowed us to further reduce the weight of the finished wheel while providing industry leading performance and durability. As the industry demand increases for aluminum wheels, investments and capacity improvements are in process at both of Accuride’s aluminum wheel production facilities.”
Operational excellence
Accuride’s long-standing commitment to operational excellence has been critical in translating innovation into consistent, high-quality output. By embedding disciplined processes across its manufacturing network, the company ensures that new technologies and performance improvements are effectively implemented and sustained at scale.
“Accuride started the lean journey more than 15 years ago, standardizing policy and practices across our manufacturing sites,” Joseph continues. “This led to us receiving the Association for Manufacturing Excellence Award at all of our current manufacturing sites. The lean journey is never finished as these processes have transformed into systemic monitoring, reporting, and analysis. Continuing the development of these systems contributes to leading edge technologies.”
Complementing this lean approach to production and continuous improvement is a robust culture that actively engages and empowers its people. From top-level senior leadership through to those on the factory floor, Accuride’s workforce is deeply invested in both the company’s own success and that of its customers – an ethos that is reinforced further by the organization’s employee ownership structure.
“Since the introduction of our Employee Owner Program, Accuride has created a more unified, motivated, and accountable workforce, as employees now directly share in the value they help to create,” Skotti affirms. “Shared ownership gives every team member a real stake in the company’s success, aligning incentives across the organization and fostering a culture of teamwork, engagement, and continuous improvement. For employees, the program offers the opportunity to build wealth at no personal cost, with payouts tied to the company’s success and future value, making work more meaningful and rewarding.
“Working for Accuride is like working for a family. We have our CEO who loves to tell dad jokes, there are sibling rivalries, and yet we all support each other through the tough times and the better times.”
Reinforced by financial stability, driven by innovation, and powered by an engaged, employee-owned workforce, Accuride is well-positioned to lead the next evolution of the commercial vehicle wheel industry, delivering lighter, stronger, and smarter solutions for the years – and roads – ahead.
“In the next five years, Accuride envisions itself as North America’s leading commercial vehicle wheel supplier, powered by a deeply engaged employee‑owner workforce and a disciplined strategy centered on growth, operational excellence, and innovation,” Skotti says, concluding our conversation optimistic for the future. “The company aims to generate up to five-times ROI by pursuing world‑class quality and service metrics, expanding its market share, and launching new value enhancing products.”
