What Electricfil Corporation makes

Electricfil Corporation is the North American arm of EFI Automotive, a French automotive supplier that designs and builds sensors, actuators, and mechatronic modules for powertrains and transmissions. The product line centers on magnetic and inductive sensors: crankshaft and camshaft position sensors, speed and position sensors, temperature sensors, clutch, fork, and neutral-position sensors, vehicle height sensors, and the sensor and trigger-wheel (target-wheel) systems that pair with them. These parts read engine and driveline conditions so control units can cut emissions and fuel use in combustion engines and manage electrified drivetrains.

Alongside sensors, the company builds mechatronic actuators, park-lock actuators, gearshifting actuators, thermal-management actuators, disconnect actuators, and air-loop actuators, plus a battery disconnect unit and park-lock sensors aimed at electric vehicles. Its stated fields of expertise are engine efficiency, transmission efficiency, e-mobility, and vehicle dynamics. The group also runs EFI Lighting, a joint venture producing LED lighting assemblies, and an aftermarket division carrying sensors and legacy Bougicord ignition parts. At Elkmont, the plant makes finished sensors for OEM and Tier 1 programs across North America.

Ownership and history

EFI Automotive traces to 1936, when Johanny Thollin founded the business in La Boisse, France. Its first products were fabric-insulated electrical wires for domestic lighting, which evolved into the patented Bougicord ignition cable in the early 1960s and, over decades, into sensors and mechatronics. The company remains family-owned, held by the Thollin family and led at group level by Beatrice Schmidt since 2020, with headquarters in Beynost, near Lyon.

The US entity, Electricfil Corporation, also trades as EFI Automotive USA, Inc. and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the group. EFI established US manufacturing in 1996 and built out its Elkmont, Alabama site as the North American headquarters in 2004. The Elkmont facility spans about 7,500 square meters of building on a 38,000 square meter property in Limestone County, within the Huntsville metropolitan area, and employs more than 250 people. A second US location in Novi, Michigan, opened in 1998 and handles sales, application engineering, and customer service for OEM and Tier 1 accounts.

Certifications and quality

The Elkmont plant holds its own IATF 16949 and ISO 9001 certificates, the automotive-sector quality baseline, both posted on the company's certification page. Across the group, EFI Automotive reports ISO 14001 environmental certification, renewed in 2024, and TISAX information-security assessment for automotive data handling. The company describes quality management as a group-wide standard applied at each manufacturing site, including Beynost, Elkmont, Wuhan, and its Turkish plant.

Known customers

Most of Electricfil's customer relationships are unnamed, as is normal for a sensor supplier serving OEM programs. One program is on the public record:

Beyond Ford, the company states it serves automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers across North America, but does not publish a broader customer list.

Sourcing evidence

Electricfil's US import record reads like a manufacturer's, not a reseller's: 168 sea shipments recorded from January 2015 through November 2025, with the most recent on November 7, 2025. The shipments are dominated by components and capital equipment that feed local production. Bills of lading name about a dozen foreign suppliers; the most active:

The pattern is clear. Paulstra, an anti-vibration and precision-rubber specialist, supplies the trigger and target wheels that pair with EFI's sensors, while the injection-molding machines from Haitian and Wittmann Battenfeld are the tooling a plant buys to mold sensor housings in-house. That is tooling and inputs in, finished sensors out, the signature of a company that builds parts in Alabama rather than importing them. Origin countries span France, China, Singapore, Turkey, Brazil, Austria, and Mexico. Customs-derived estimates put cumulative ocean shipping spend near $127,000 across the recorded window, with cost data covering roughly 42% of shipments, an order-of-magnitude figure rather than an audited one. For buyers weighing nearshoring and tariff exposure, the mix shows a US plant sourcing its core sensor components from a European group affiliate.

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 Electricfil Corporation make?

Electricfil Corporation, the North American arm of EFI Automotive, manufactures automotive sensors, sensor and trigger-wheel systems, and mechatronic actuators. Its products include crankshaft, camshaft, speed, position, and temperature sensors, plus park-lock, gearshift, and thermal-management actuators and a battery disconnect unit for electrified vehicles. The Elkmont, Alabama plant builds finished sensors for OEM and Tier 1 programs.

Who owns Electricfil Corporation?

Electricfil Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of EFI Automotive (Electricfil Automotive SAS), a family-owned French supplier founded in 1936 by Johanny Thollin. The group is held by the Thollin family and headquartered in Beynost, France, and has been led by Beatrice Schmidt since 2020.

Where is Electricfil Corporation located?

Electricfil Corporation's North American headquarters and plant are at 18831 Carters Circle, Elkmont, Alabama 35620, in Limestone County near Huntsville. The site spans roughly 7,500 square meters of building on a 38,000 square meter property. The company also operates a sales and engineering office in Novi, Michigan.

Who are Electricfil Corporation's customers?

Electricfil's customers are automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, most of them unnamed. One documented program is Ford: the company's 2023 Elkmont expansion added lines to build about 6 million sensors a year for Ford trucks, including transmission range sensors for the F-Series and engine sensors for Super Duty and E-Series vehicles.

How many employees does Electricfil Corporation have?

Electricfil Corporation's Elkmont site employs more than 250 people. Across the EFI Automotive group, headcount is about 1,400. In 2025 the Alabama operation was recognized in the 100-to-399-employee category when it was named Alabama Medium Manufacturer of the Year.

What certifications does Electricfil Corporation hold?

The Elkmont plant holds IATF 16949 and ISO 9001 certificates, posted on the company's certification page. The wider EFI Automotive group reports ISO 14001 environmental certification, renewed in 2024, and TISAX information-security assessment for the automotive supply chain.

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