What Lucerne International makes

Lucerne International is a woman-owned automotive supplier in Auburn Hills, Michigan that offers forging, casting, machining, and assembly from a single source. The company builds body structural, chassis, and propulsion components and complete assemblies for mobility OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, and also serves automation, robotics, military, and aerospace customers. It works in aluminum, several steel grades, zinc, and iron.

On the forging side, Lucerne runs hot and cold processes for aluminum and steel and shapes complex geometrical forms, including Class "A" precision components. Its casting range covers high- and low-pressure aluminum and zinc die casting, plus steel and iron gravity casting using lost foam and lost wax techniques. Machining is precision CNC turning and milling on horizontal and vertical mills. Value-added services include assembly, surface treatment and finishing, mold flow analysis, red-light scanning, design feasibility for manufacturing, global quality support, and global logistics.

The customs record matches that description. Lucerne's imports are dominated by forged and cast automotive parts: aluminum and steel hinges, control arm housings, brackets, and pistons, the input flow of a company that finishes and assembles automotive components rather than a reseller of finished goods.

Ownership and history

Lucerne International was founded in 1993 in Oakland County, Michigan, and is privately held. Mary Buchzeiger has led the company as CEO since 2008 and is credited with taking it from a regional supply-chain provider to a global supplier with a network of manufacturing partnerships. The company took its current shape in part through a 2017 combination and rebrand involving Sure Solutions, and it is WBENC-certified, describing itself as the only Women's Business Enterprise in Michigan to offer forging, casting, machining, and assembly from a single source.

The most consequential recent move was a reshoring push. In November 2022 Lucerne acquired Morgan Machining LLC, another Auburn Hills manufacturer, adding its first domestic machining capability in 20 years and roughly 10 employees, which brought total headcount to around 45. The CEO framed the deal as a way to bring machining work back from China, then home to about 85 percent of the company's manufacturing, and to add 10 to 15 jobs to start. The company also described plans for a new hot aluminum forging plant, possibly in Michigan. Lucerne had drawn national attention years earlier for warning about the impact of US tariffs on Chinese imports on small manufacturers, and it framed the nearshoring shift as a response to lingering supply-chain fragility exposed during the pandemic.

Leadership per the company's own materials: Mary Buchzeiger, Chief Executive Officer; David Okonoski, Chief Operating Officer, with more than 25 years in manufacturing, engineering, and supply chain; Jennifer Nitz, VP Program Development; Marya Mobley, VP Machining Operations; and Hari Menon, Quality Manager, who spent more than 23 years at General Motors before joining Lucerne.

Certifications and quality

Lucerne is a nationally certified Women Business Enterprise through the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), a supplier-diversity certification rather than a quality-management system. The company references global quality support across its operations, staffs a dedicated quality function under a former General Motors quality leader, and publishes a Supplier Standards Manual (2019) that governs its own supply base. A dated ISO 9001 or IATF 16949 certificate is not published on the company's site, so this profile does not assert a current quality-system certification. Direct-materials buyers evaluating Lucerne would typically confirm current certification and PPAP status during qualification.

Known customers

Lucerne's major customers are documented in the company's own materials and in Crain's Detroit Business coverage:

Sourcing evidence

Lucerne's US import record reads the way a forging and casting importer's should: 790 sea shipments since January 2015, running light and steady at about 1.87 TEU per shipment and 0.78 TEU per month, with cumulative ocean shipping spend estimated near $1.6M (72 percent of shipments carry cost data, so treat it as an order-of-magnitude figure). Imports continued into 2026, with the most recent shipment spotted on August 20, 2026. The declared goods are forged and cast automotive parts, dominated by aluminum and steel hinges and control arm housings.

Six shown of the more than 40 foreign suppliers on record. By origin, the base is entirely in Asia: China accounts for 524 shipments, Taiwan 249, and South Korea 10. That concentration is the backdrop to the company's stated onshoring strategy, and it is relevant to buyers weighing tariff exposure on China-origin automotive parts.

Coverage caveats: these are US ocean-freight records only. Air, truck, and rail movements 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 Lucerne International make?

Lucerne International makes forged, cast, and machined automotive components and complete assemblies, offering forging, casting, machining, and assembly from a single source. It produces body structural, chassis, and propulsion parts in aluminum, steel, zinc, and iron, primarily for automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, and also serves automation, military, and aerospace customers.

Who owns Lucerne International?

Lucerne International is privately held and woman-owned. It has been led by CEO Mary Buchzeiger since 2008 and is certified as a Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) through WBENC. The company was founded in 1993 in Oakland County, Michigan, and took its current shape in part through a 2017 combination involving Sure Solutions.

Who are Lucerne International's customers?

Crain's Detroit Business and the company's own materials name General Motors, Meritor, and Harley-Davidson as major customers, and Lucerne received a Meritor Supplier Partner Award. It has also been reported to supply door hinges for the 2018 JL Jeep Wrangler.

Where is Lucerne International located?

Lucerne International is headquartered at 40 Corporate Drive in Auburn Hills, Michigan 48326, in a facility of roughly 28,700 square feet. It also operates through a global network of manufacturing facilities, joint-venture operations, and strategic manufacturing alliances.

How many employees does Lucerne International have?

Lucerne International is a small company; Crain's reported total headcount of around 45 after its 2022 Morgan Machining acquisition, up from about 32 in 2017. It does not publish a current headcount figure.

Is Lucerne International reshoring from China?

Yes. In November 2022 Lucerne acquired Morgan Machining to add domestic machining and move work back from China, where about 85 percent of its manufacturing was then based, and it described plans for a new hot aluminum forging plant in the US. Its US import record still shows an Asia-based supply base, consistent with a transition in progress.

Last verified September 28, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.