Blog

At Oakwood we are very excited to receive our eighth consecutive supplier award from Johnson Controls. This award reflects the overall performance of our business, specifically our SafetyPlastic®, metal speaker grilles and badges. We have a diverse set of products that are evaluated in many categories including quality, cost, and delivery performance. We are delighted to prove once again that we are a valued supplier to our Tier 1 and OEM customers. Oakwood has been the leader in expanded metal speaker grilles, overhead and side impact countermeasures. Oakwood is a Michigan-based company...


Read More

The National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) reported that the estimated number of traffic fatalities in the United States for 2009 was 33,963. Believe it or not, that number happens to be LOWEST number of traffic fatalities since 1954 and a drop of 8.9% from the 37,261 people who died in 2008. While the average person may have been driving less than they have historically due to the global recession in 2009, it still demonstrates that the cars and trucks that drive on our roads are getting safer every day. That 2009 number represents 1.16 traffic fatalities for every 100,000,000 miles traveled...


Read More

Purchasing a car, whether it’s new or used, is a very personal experience. The most important features vary greatly from person to person and change regularly as our needs change at different stages in our lives. We typically begin our lives with a “set of wheels”otherwise known as a “beater,” then move onto a stereo-on-wheels, then onto an extension of our business, then onto a functional family-friendly bus, then back to a stereo-on-wheels when we have our mid-life crisis, until we finally just want a good ride and a comfortable seat that supports our aching, aging body. However, there...


Read More

The Oakwood Group is focused on developing leading technologies to allow OEMs to manage side impact energy and achieve outstanding performance. When using SafetyPlastic thermoformed energy absorbers, the new requirements of FMVSS214 and the HIS side impact can effectively be managed. SafetyPlastic is a tunable product and its design can allow for multiple densities to be included in the same part. These multiple densities allow for a softer absorber to manage the different crash dummies (SID 2s and ES-2re) and seating locations (forward and rearward) that are used in the new FMVSS214 side impact...


Read More

It’s understood within the audio industry that metal transmits sound better than all types of plastic. For years the enhancement of using metal speaker grilles has typically come with a premium cost versus plastic. The Oakwood Group continues to develop innovative ways to offer the best performing audio speaker grilles while minimizing cost premiums versus plastic. Escalating oil prices have assisted in this endeavor by driving up the cost of raw plastic resin used in the plastic grille manufacturing process. In addition, Oakwood’s designed attachment schemes that allow for low cost manufacturing...


Read More