Mexican Auto Supplier Joins UM Hybrid Racing Team As Sponsor
PLYMOUTH (WWJ) -- SanLuis Rassini, a Mexico-based supplier of suspension and brake components in North America and Brazil, said Monday it had made a donation to become a silver-level sponsor for the University of Michigan's student-run Michigan Hybrid Racing team for their 2014 season.
Rassini's donation will go toward the purchase of a new differential for the vehicle's drivetrain and allow the team to buy aluminum stock to machine suspension components. This sponsorship follows a long list of partnerships over the past decade between Rassini and UM, the most recent of which resulted in an automotive patent application focused on advancements in composite material technology.
Now in its third season, the MHybrid team strives to improve its design by focusing on producing the lightest, most effective components and further developing its controls system. Competition is quickly approaching, beginning in May.
"SanLuis Rassini's sponsorship will allow us to keep progressing in our design for the competition, as well as help give student engineers the resources needed for a real-world engineering experience," said MHybrid team captain Connor St. John. "Donations from businesses such as SanLuis Rassini allow us to work with world-class companies for integration with local industry as well as fund some of the most key components of our vehicle."
Added SanLuis Rassini engineering director Mauricio Gonzalez: "Part of our culture is to give back to the local communities where we live and work and supporting a leading-class institution like the University of Michigan does just that. The patent applications that have resulted from the University of Michigan relationship as well as from other universities that we partner with are a testament to the exceptional expertise that stems from these schools, as well as our ability to work with them to achieve technological breakthroughs."
The company has eight manufacturing sites in North America and Brazil. Included is a technical center in Plymouth and a brake disc manufacturing plant in Flint. SanLuis Rassini is a subsidiary of SanLuis Corp., S.A.B. de C.V. For more information, visit www.sanluisrassini.com.
