Friday, June 30, marked the final day of production at Chrysler's Toledo Parkway assembly plant. After 64 years of manufacturing Jeep products at the Parkway facility, the Chrysler Group has relocated production of the Jeep Wrangler to the new $2.1 billion state-of-the-art Toledo Supplier Park and added a new, four-door Unlimited version of the Wrangler to Toledo's manufacturing mix.
The Toledo Supplier Park - part of an unprecedented expansion by DaimlerChrysler in this urban, Midwest operation - is now the new home of the Jeep Wrangler. The plant, adjacent to DaimlerChrysler's Toledo North Assembly Plant, is operated by the Chrysler Group and three supplier partners: Magna International's Magna Steyr, Kuka Group and Hyundai Mobis-owned Ohio Module Manufacturing Corp. (OMMC). The innovative supplier park is the first North American operation to have three major vehicle- building operations (body shop, paint shop and chassis assembly) owned or operated by suppliers. The Jeep Wrangler was formerly built at the Toledo assembly plant comprised of the Parkway and Stickney locations.
"The closing of Toledo Parkway clearly marks the end of an important era in our history," said Frank Ewasyshyn, executive vice president - manufacturing, Chrysler Group. "But it also opens the door for us to modernize our facilities while ensuring that our Toledo employees have a stronger future."
Toledo's modern, four-vehicle manufacturing portfolio - with the capability to add even more models - stands in stark contrast to the one-product town that characterized Toledo less than a decade ago. By later this summer, the two plants will be building Jeep Wrangler (two-door), Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (four-door), Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro.
"Keeping companies like Chrysler Group in Toledo and providing an opportunity to grow and expand its operations is a major step toward stimulating growth in the Toledo area," said Toledo mayor Carty Finkbeiner. "While the Parkway facility has been a part of the Toledo landscape many years, this new plant structure is clearly the future of manufacturing and we're proud to be at the center of it. The Jeep Wrangler is a part of our history and we love that it's built here in Toledo."
The Supplier Park brings enhanced manufacturing technology to Toledo and gives the plant the flexibility to build multiple vehicles on the same production line.
At the Supplier Park, paint operations are coordinated by Magna Steyer, Kuka Group operates the body shop, while Ohio Module Manufacturing Corp. assembles the chassis. Chrysler Group has the responsibility for the final trim and assembly operations at the plant. All four facilities were completed earlier this year and have been working together to produce pilot vehicles since May.