Company tied to a Detroit manufacturer buys Dayton plant for $1.3M

A sign at the visitors parking lot to Select Industries' 60 Heid Ave. plant on Jan. 14, 2025. THOMAS GNAU/STAFF

A sign at the visitors parking lot to Select Industries' 60 Heid Ave. plant on Jan. 14, 2025. THOMAS GNAU/STAFF

A limited liability company has sold a former Select Industries Corp. plant in Dayton to a Detroit automobile manufacturing services company, new Montgomery County property records indicate.

According to those records, METD Dayton Inc. purchased the property at 220 Janney Road from Janney Road LLC for $1.3 million.

Records show the sale date as March 14.

The address for Janney Road LLC is 60 Heid Ave., the address of one of Select Industries' two North Dayton plants.

The Detroit tax mailing address for METD Dayton Inc. matches the address for Laepple Automotive US, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of German company LÄPPLE Automotive GmbH. The latter company’s web site says it is a provider of forming solutions for vehicle body assembly, specializing in sheet metal part forming.

The state of Michigan awarded Laepple a $3.5 million grant to help it establish a headquarters and factory in Detroit, Crain’s Business reported last year.

The company took over a former Detroit tool and die production facility last September.

Oliver Wackenhut, chief executive of LÄPPLE Automotive, said in a release last year: “With our expertise and passion for body-in-white manufacturing, we will not only bring the plant to life, but also offer our customers new opportunities for their projects by expanding our international footprint.”

“Body-in-white” refers to the process of welding an automotive body’s frame together.

Messages seeking comment were sent to the company’s offices in Detroit and Heilbronn, Germany. An employee who answered a call to the company’s Detroit number said he needed to learn more about the sale.

Readers may recall that Dayton manufacturer Select Industries ended business at its Heid Avenue and Janney Road facilities, according to a letter from President Tim Claude to the company’s business partners.

A visit to the Dayton plants in January showed that entrances to visitor’s lobbies had been closed.

Records show that Heid Avenue LLC owns the company’s Heid Avenue plant.

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