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economist sunsuntribune business saturday march 12 2005 publication mail agreement 40007673 the say parts companies face court showdown correction notice in belle magazine spring 2005 issue on page 28 gem sandal by tommy hilfiger is incor rectly identified as metallic sandal by ralph lauren sony for any incvmxriienct his may hae cauxtti by patrick mangion staff writer the picture on the wall in axiom groups aurora facility shows rocco di serio one of the owners of the small auto parts maker smiling eartoear as he accepts a plaque from a representa tive of magna international the caption reads preferred suppli er award but since that picture was taken more dr rory hunter dds and staff are delighted to welcome dr kelly sam chu as a dental associate to our practice she practices all facets of clinical dentistry with a special focus on surgery we welcome new patients 34a main street markham 9052943444 mi im wgi5 mi stfm im featuring the toronto philharmonia in support of renascent cocktails 6 pm dinner 7 pm concert 9 pm individual tickets 150 table sponsorship for 6 people logo 9 holes golf reserve your tickets by contacting kelly wayling at 905r8870090 x 237 1 than five years ago the relationship between axiom and magna subsidiary intier automotive inc has eroded last year intier demanded axiom slash prices by 318 per cent due to pressure for more competitive pricing from automakers many of canadas small auto part makers including axiom face financial ruin as a trend of costcutting from upper tier suppliers continues an industry conference heard last week intiers proposed deep cuts would essentially sink the business and lead to cutting more than 60 per cent of axioms 145 employees according to mr di serio and partner herbert jahn the nearly 32percent price cut would be impossible for axiom to absorb mr jahn said during a tour of the 70000squarefoot mary street facil ity theres isnt 32 per cent left mr di serio added whatever we could offer to intier in savings we did it he said adding axioms managing partners sought price cuts from their own suppliers in an effort to satisfy intier the company also asked the town of aurora for a break on its commercial taxes and approached the local hydro company to find savings but nothing it could do would have produced a 32percent savings mr di serio said last month a toronto judge granted axiom an injunction after intier threat ened to cancel all 40 of its contracts with axiom some jaf which run through 2009 in january axiom filed a 30million lawsuit against intier claiming it breached contracts louis tonelli vicepresident of investor relations said magna would not comment on axioms lawsuit since it is now before the courts the partssupply base has become very unstable intier chief executive officer don walker told the toronto star last week a shareholders meeting is set for march 30 when intier is expected to rejoin the parent company magna spun off several of its subsidiaries over the past 10 years meanwhile lawyers for axiom and intier are awaiting a trial date axiom is using the time to court new business anticipating its dealings with 4i v ssfejfc staff photosteve somerville axiom officials say they would have to cut as much as 60 per cent of their work force if intier was able to cancel contracts intier and magna will be over in four years regardless of the trial outcome it had to come to this mr jahn said mr jahn mr di serio and partner perry rizzo began their business rela tionship with magna in 1989 when mark your calendar v tt v march 18 19 20 2005 over 120 exhibitors hourly door prizes free parking atm machine coat parcel check child care country c0 decorating join canadas original display of canadas finest juried exhibitors offering the true essence of country v country furnishings ijjf country decorating accents antiques j country clothes accessories f country crafts affordable gift ideas for easter mothers day fathers day everything from a to z to help decorate your home garden and cottage for your country hearts desire 2 acmsso markham fairgrounds vu kftii i rjuj 4t4t44444444t44t444 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 st uffvllle side road wwwcountrydec6ratihgshowcbm information 18666492480 the show is like your favourite country decorating magazine has come to life axiom began making tooling and parts for automobile windows for the auto parts giant after moving from scarborough to a larger facility in aurora about three years ago axiom invested millions in tech nology while hiring more than 40 employees one machine costing 250000 was purchased strictly to meet the require ments of intier contracts mr jahn said news of the fallout with intier has occupied much of the water cooler talk around among axiom employees said shift supervisor lalitha thillainathan were still busy we dont want to lose intier people are worried she said intier has been axioms main cus tomer for 10 years accounting for 60 per cent of its business axiom has annual sales of about 14 million intier generates annual sales of more than 465 billion us in granting last months injunction the judge said intier would save about 17 million by cancelling contracts with axiom statistics show about 2000 of the 101500 autoparts sector jobs concen trated in southern ontario were elimi nated last year industry experts are forecasting a 6- percent downturn in north american vehicle production or approximately one million vehicles next year