Bloxwich Engineering has collapsed after running up a pension deficit of more than £10 million.
Key customers of the automotive components supplier, including LDV the Birmingham vanmaker, Aston Martin, Land Rover, GKN, BMW and Toyota, have been reassured that component supplies are safe in the run-up to Christmas.
But 130 workers face an uncertain future after administrators were called in following months of spiralling debts at the Malaysian-owned company.
The £10 million turnover company has been a first-tier supplier to the automotive sector for many years, providing door and cab hinges, and locking systems.
The firm, now owned by Malaysian group Mega First Corporation, was set up in 1915 as Bloxwich Lock and Stamping and employed 5,000 in its heyday.
Administrator Neil Tombs, of Grant Thornton, said Bloxwich Engineering had been caught in a "deadly cocktail" of pressures on margins hitting global manufacturers and the rising cost of raw materials.
"The company has been losing money and had a substantial pension scheme liability. It had retrenched its business and was subject to a turnaround," he said. "The good news is that we have a full production schedule up to Christmas. We hope to have time to see whether a buyer will come forward.
"This is the low-tech part of the automotive industry - stampings and forgings - and there is a hugely competitive supply chain."
The firm operated from two locations in Bell Lane and Fryers Lane, Bloxwich, Walsall, and had been in negotiations to sell the Bell Lane site, with completion due on November 30.
