Chrysler Group's Toledo (Ohio) North Assembly Plant Launches Third Shift
15 Juin 2006 - 5:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
* Third shift adds approximately 750 jobs in Third Quarter * Toledo
benefits from $600 million investment AUBURN HILLS, Mich., June 15
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Chrysler Group today announced that
manufacturing operations at its Toledo (Ohio) North Assembly Plant
will be expanded to include a third work shift beginning in Third
Quarter 2006. The new shift will add approximately 750 jobs to the
facility. The addition of the third-shift operations coincides with
the all-new Dodge Nitro production. The majority of the jobs will
be filled with current Chrysler Group employees who will be called
back from layoff. "Cooperation between the union, management and
the workforce has been the foundation of the Company's ability to
institute our flexible manufacturing strategy," said Frank
Ewasyshyn, Executive Vice President - Manufacturing, Chrysler
Group. "Flexible manufacturing allows us to coordinate market
responsiveness appropriately -- a key driver for success." In
November 2005, Chrysler Group announced that it would invest $600
million at Toledo North, giving the plant the flexibility to add
Dodge Nitro assembly to the line that has been producing the
Jeep(R) Liberty since 2001. Those investments also added more than
160,000 square feet of floor space, new equipment -- including more
than 150 new robots -- new conveyors as well as important new
processes that will contribute to the plant's productivity and
quality. "We are honored to have been selected as the assembly
plant to produce the Dodge Nitro," said Luis Rivas, Toledo North
Assembly - Plant Manager, Chrysler Group. "By embracing a flexible
operating environment and focusing on continuous improvements, we
were able to secure another product for our facility." The 2.10
million square-foot Toledo North Assembly Plant occupies 200 acres
and has more than 2,700 employees. Groundbreaking of Toledo North
began in fall 1997. Production of Jeep Liberty launched April 2001.
Next door, DaimlerChrysler's all-new Toledo Supplier Assembly Plant
will begin building an all-new Jeep Wrangler in the summer of 2006.
The new plant will be operated by the Chrysler Group and three
supplier partners: Magna International, Kuka Group and Hyundai
Mobis, who will manage unprecedented levels of the manufacturing
operation. This "supplier park" frees Chrysler Group capital to be
invested in new product development. Chrysler Group has
demonstrated a long-standing commitment to invest in existing
facilities and provide good-paying jobs in urban environments. By
renovating many of its existing facilities, Chrysler Group was a
leading corporate investor in urban America during the 1990s. This
decade, the company is continuing the trend in cities such as
Toledo, St. Louis, Detroit and Warren, Mich. DATASOURCE: Chrysler
Group CONTACT: Michele Tinson, +1-248-705-2456, , or David Elshoff,
+1-248-512-2690, , both of Chrysler Group Web site:
http://www.media.daimlerchrysler.com/
http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/
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