What JAC Products makes

JAC Products designs, engineers, and manufactures roof rack systems and exterior functional trim for automotive OEMs. Roof carrier systems are the core of the business, and the range is broad: the first-to-market Swing-In-Place rack with cross bars that stow inside the side rails, stowable and low-profile injection-molded systems, aerodynamic raised rails, and one-piece stretch-bent aluminum rails. The company backs those with an extensive cross-bar catalog covering single side release, clamp-on, roof-mounted, fixed-position, and infinitely adjustable designs. Beyond racks, JAC produces cargo management systems, step rails and running boards, ditch moldings, and both standard and custom extrusions.

The manufacturing base is unusually vertically integrated for exterior trim. JAC runs more than 60 injection-molding machines from 55 to 3,000 tons, including two-shot tooling, and molds glass-filled nylon, TPO, ABS, and ABS+PC for Class A structural parts. It extrudes over 20 million pounds of aluminum a year, mostly 6000-series, and roll-forms stainless, galvanized, and cold-rolled steel alongside aluminum. Finishing runs in-house or through partners: 10-axis CNC stretch bending, robotic machining and polishing, anodizing, bright nickel and satin chrome plating, E-coat and powder coat, and integrated lean assembly. Engineering support spans Class A surfacing in Alias, full CAD in CATIA and NX, FEA in Ansys, and mold-flow analysis in Moldex 3D, organized around a seven-phase new product introduction system.

Ownership and history

JAC Products traces its roof-carrier design work to 1970, and industry directories cite a corporate founding of 1967. The company built its position as a specialist in automotive functional exterior components over the following five decades. It is headquartered at the JAC Global Corporate Headquarters and Technical Center at 3937 Campus Drive in Pontiac, Michigan.

The company is privately held and private-equity backed. Argonaut Private Equity and Hall Capital Partners acquired JAC Products on October 31, 2016, buying it from prior owner Wynnchurch Capital. No later change of control appears on the public record through 2026, and Apollo lists Hall Capital as the ultimate parent. Leadership per the company's own materials: Mike Wood, President and CEO, who joined in 2011 as Chief Operating Officer and was appointed CEO in October 2014; Ricardo Neves, Chief Operating Officer, who joined in 2017 to lead the European region and relocated to the United States as COO in January 2023; Michael Moriarty, Chief Financial Officer, who joined in November 2021; and Alex Hall, Vice President of Global Product Engineering.

Global footprint

JAC operates 13 locations across four continents, servicing more than 20 OEMs worldwide from a network that keeps assembly close to customer plants. The global headquarters and technical center sit in Pontiac, Michigan. North American manufacturing runs from Saline, Shelby Township, and the technical center in Michigan, Franklin and LaGrange in Georgia, Napoleon in Ohio, and Queretaro in Mexico. In Europe, the regional headquarters and manufacturing are in Carregado, Portugal, with additional manufacturing in Gliwice, Poland. In Asia, JAC Auto Parts (Ningbo) Co., Ltd. serves the China region from Yuyao, Zhejiang. Sales and customer support offices operate in France, Japan, and Brazil. This distributed model lets JAC extrude, bend, machine, mold, roll form, stamp, and assemble regionally rather than shipping finished racks across oceans.

Certifications and quality

JAC's Ningbo plant holds IATF 16949:2016 certification from TÜV SÜD, issued March 12, 2025 and valid through March 11, 2028, with a scope covering the design and manufacturing of roof rack, running board, and cargo management components, including product design under Chapter 8.3. The company states that its assembly operations across facilities follow IATF 16949 and ISO 14001 standards, and it publishes ISO certificates on its site. Its engineering process embeds quality upstream through a structured seven-phase launch discipline aligned with automotive PPAP expectations, and its stated hallmarks are on-time launches and repeatable, error-proofed assembly.

Known customers

JAC serves automotive OEMs directly as a Tier 1 supplier. The documented and reported relationships:

The Ford Expedition program is the strongest single data point: an award from the Society of Plastics Engineers naming both companies for a specific 2025 vehicle roof rack, which places JAC on a current, high-volume full-size SUV program.

Sourcing evidence

JAC's US import record reads the way a domestic assembler's should. It shows 1,395 sea shipments since January 2015, still active as of September 19, 2026, dominated by inbound components and tooling rather than finished goods. Bills of lading name suppliers under 16 company-name variants and 24 addresses. The most active:

Six shown of the named suppliers on record. Jac Ningbo Trade is JAC's own China trading entity, so those 319 shipments are intercompany component flow rather than an arm's-length supplier relationship. By origin, Taiwan leads with 775 shipments and China follows with 413, together the source of most rack components and tooling. European suppliers in Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Italy add fasteners, cork, and specialty parts. The busiest lanes run Kaohsiung to Los Angeles and Newark, and Ningbo to Long Beach. Trailing-month import volume is down about 17% year over year, a level consistent with normal program cadence rather than a wind-down given the continued activity into late 2026.

For buyers weighing nearshoring and tariff exposure, the pattern is worth reading carefully: JAC assembles regionally across 13 sites, but a meaningful share of its rack hardware and tooling still originates in Taiwan and China. Coverage caveats apply. These are US ocean-freight records only. Air, truck, and rail movements, including most cross-border North American flows, do not appear; some records name freight intermediaries rather than manufacturers; and product categories come from declared manifest codes, which are noisy. Absence of a record is not evidence of absence.

Frequently asked questions

What does JAC Products make?

JAC Products designs and manufactures automotive roof rack systems, cargo management systems, step rails and running boards, ditch moldings, and custom extrusions for OEMs. It is a vertically integrated supplier that injection molds, extrudes aluminum, roll forms steel, and assembles exterior functional trim in-house.

Who owns JAC Products?

JAC Products is privately held and private-equity backed. Argonaut Private Equity and Hall Capital Partners acquired the company on October 31, 2016, from prior owner Wynnchurch Capital. No later change of control appears on the public record through 2026.

Where is JAC Products headquartered?

JAC Products' global corporate headquarters and technical center are at 3937 Campus Drive, Pontiac, Michigan. The company operates 13 locations across four continents, with manufacturing in Michigan, Georgia, Ohio, Mexico, Portugal, Poland, and China.

Who are JAC Products' customers?

JAC supplies more than 20 automotive OEMs worldwide. Ford is a documented customer: Ford and JAC won a 2025 Society of Plastics Engineers award for the Ford Expedition roof rack. Toyota, Lincoln, GM, Nissan, and other OEMs appear on the company's own customer references.

How many employees does JAC Products have?

JAC Products employs an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 people across its global network. The company does not publish an exact headcount; the band reflects its 13-site footprint and integrated manufacturing at each location. Databases that model headcount from LinkedIn profiles tend to undercount blue-collar manufacturing workforces.

What certifications does JAC Products hold?

JAC's Ningbo plant holds IATF 16949:2016 certification from TÜV SÜD, valid through March 2028, covering the design and manufacture of roof rack, running board, and cargo management components. The company states its assembly operations follow IATF 16949 and ISO 14001 standards.

Last verified September 27, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.