Chrysler, parts supplier settle dispute that idled Chrysler plants

DETROIT -- Struggling parts supplier Plastech Engineered Products Inc. has agreed to resume sending parts to Chrysler, temporarily halting a financial dispute that had closed four of the automaker's assembly plants, including one in Belvidere.

The deal announced Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit means Plastech would start making interior and exterior parts on its second shift Tuesday afternoon, allowing Chrysler to restart production at the factories.

The four Chrysler plants, as well as one shift at a fifth, were shut down Monday due to a lack of door panels and other interior and exterior parts from Plastech, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Chrysler said in a statement its factories were going back online starting with Tuesday's second shift. About 10,500 workers had been idled by the dispute, which threatened to spread to all 14 of the automaker's assembly plants.

The agreement will last until Feb. 15. It doesn't settle the dispute. A hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 13 for arguments on whether Chrysler can seize tooling equipment at Plastech plants that the automaker says it owns. Plastech says that ownership is in question and its removal would affect other customers -- General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and Johnson Controls Inc.

Plastech General Counsel Kelvin Scott said the supplier was forced to seek bankruptcy protection to stop Chrysler from taking the tooling.