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August 30, 2006 This Week:
© 1998 - 2006
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As part of Chrysler Group's innovative manufacturing project in Toledo, three supplier partners will manage and operate major parts of the vehicle production process from neighboring facilities within the Toledo plant footprint. While the KUKA Group is responsible for building bodies for the all-new 2007 Jeep Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited, Magna Steyr will run the paint shop and Hyundai Mobis-owned Ohio Module Manufacturing Company (OMMC) will assemble the vehicle's chassis. Chrysler Group has the responsibility for the final trim and assembly operations of the plant. All four facilities were completed earlier this year and have been producing pilot parts since April.
The painted vehicle body and the chassis module are sent on conveyor lines directly into Chrysler Group's final assembly building, where all vehicle components are married together to create the finished vehicle. From start to finish, Chrysler Group is working rigorously with all supplier partners to maintain the highest levels of quality in each area of the assembly process, including a series of final validation tests for each vehicle as it comes off the line. New methods of material flow are being implemented to manage the complexity of the two models being built on one assembly line. An inbound sequencing center is housed in the adjoining Stickney complex and manages more than 1,800 different parts that are used in the Dodge Nitro, Jeep Liberty and Toledo Supplier Park's Jeep Wrangler two-door and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited four-door build process. In addition to sequencing, this center provides parts metering, kitting and container management to both Toledo North and Toledo Supplier Park Assembly Plants. This co-location project between the three supplier partners and Chrysler Group in Toledo is part of a $2.1 billion total program investment. The Chrysler Group has invested approximately $3.9 billion into the Toledo area over the past five years. The investments include an original $1.2 billion to build the Toledo North (opening in 2001) combined with an expansion of Toledo North that gave the plant the flexibility to add the new Dodge Nitro to the Jeep Liberty assembly line. Total capital investment for the Toledo Supplier Park project is projected to be $900 million. Throughout Jeep Wrangler's 65-year-history, Jeep engineers have ensured that each new generation Wrangler delivers - and improves upon - its world-class off-road capability, open-air fun and freedom, and interior comfort and convenience. For the all-new 2007 Jeep Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited - the sixth generation of Wrangler models - Jeep engineers focused on more than 50 functional objectives - from ground clearance to articulation to ride and handling. The result is the ultimate "out-of-the-box" off-road vehicle combined with everyday practicality and all the necessary features to "go anywhere and do anything." Over the years, freedom, authenticity, mastery and the capability to go anywhere and do anything have become the hallmarks of the Jeep brand and the basis for its SUV leadership worldwide. Jeep four-wheel-drive vehicles are built and sold at the rate of more than 600,000 vehicles each year. Chrysler Group manufactures Jeep vehicles in the U.S., Austria, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Venezuela, Argentina and Egypt. The Toledo area has benefited from two new assembly plants as well as new vehicles. Besides the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited production at the Toledo Supplier plant, production of Jeep Liberty at the Toledo North Assembly plant began when the plant opened in 2001. Production of the new 2007 Dodge Nitro began last month. The new Toledo Supplier Park replaces Chrysler Group's Parkway and Stickney assembly operations which have built Jeep brand vehicles since the 1940s. The TSP location is 2.0 million square feet with 1,400 employees while the Toledo North Assembly Plant is 2.10 million square feet and has more than 2,700 employees. Employees at both plants are represented by United Auto Workers Local 12. In total, Chrysler Group has made a significant impact on the City of Toledo and the State of Ohio, with 7,941 employees statewide generating $465 million in annual wages and providing more than $26 million taxable income to the state. (Aug 28, 2006)
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