Triumph Over Tariffs
LUCERNE INTERNATIONAL
The
Challenge
In mid-April 2018, Mary Buchzeiger, CEO of automotive supplier Lucerne International, called Truscott Rossman from one of her factories in Asia to get help with an overwhelming crisis.
Mary shared that the first round of the Trump Administration’s steel tariffs would shutter her company, putting 40-plus employees in Auburn Hills out of work. The plant produced hinges for Jeep Wranglers. Further, the tariffs would stifle her plans to open a Flint-based manufacturing plant.
The
Response
Truscott Rossman worked with Mary to write an op-ed, landing it in Crain’s Detroit Business and Automotive News. TR then identified and pitched other prominent state and national outlets where Mary’s story would resonate, given the climate at the height of the tariff wars. From Politico to the Wall Street Journal and New York Times – including a profile of the credible, charismatic businesswoman on the front page of the NYT’s business section – the story took off.
The
Results
Mary’s story went viral. With the help of TR’s media relations work and strategic positioning, Mary is a known influencer in the auto industry – sought regularly by reporters from around the world to comment on trade issues, cast for live events across the globe, and given entry in organizations and clubs not previously aware of her company and its critical role in the manufacturing sector and as a growing Tier 1 and 2 automotive supplier.
Most importantly, Mary won a rare exclusion from the tariffs that saved the business and her employees’ jobs. From an op-ed in a Detroit-based business publication to The New York Times and NBC Nightly News, Truscott Rossman helped Mary climb the ladder of influence and overcome her business crisis.
