More than 800 United Auto Workers-represented employees at Chrysler Group LLC’s Toledo Assembly Complex (TAC), employees of its supplier partners and elected officials welcomed U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to the home of the iconic Jeep Wrangler on August 23.
The Vice President visited the Chrysler plant, which is building the 2011 Jeep Wrangler in an innovative manufacturing project with three supplier partners, to highlight the important role that suppliers have played in the automotive industry.
Jeep Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited models have been rolling off the line as part of a unique manufacturing arrangement since August 2006. Three supplier partners 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 2011 Jeep Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited, Magna Steyr runs the paint shop and Hyundai Mobis-owned Ohio Module Manufacturing Company (OMMC) assembles the vehicle’s chassis. Chrysler Group has the responsibility for the final trim and assembly operations of the plant.
“I’d like to thank the Obama administration for showing faith in the people of Chrysler, in our ability to forge a lasting recovery and to make a positive contribution to society,” said Sergio Marchionne, CEO, Chrysler Group LLC.
"The model that has been created in Toledo remains unique in the industry and has only succeeded because of the dedicated, disciplined and, of course, flexible team working here,” Marchionne continued. “We thank the UAW, the Toledo workforce and the City of Toledo for making what was just a vision more than five years ago an integral part of our future moving forward."
The co-location project between the three supplier partners and Chrysler Group in Toledo was part of a $2.1 billion total program investment.
The Vice President came to Toledo a little more than a year after the company emerged from bankruptcy to see a company that is on the road to recovery.
Since June 2009, Chrysler Group has reported an operating profit of $183 million for the second quarter of 2010; has added a second shift of production – or nearly 1,100 jobs – at Jefferson North (Detroit) Assembly Plant; announced that it would add nearly 900 jobs on a second shift at its Sterling Heights (Mich.) Assembly Plant in the first quarter of 2011; launched the all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee in May; announced that it will invest $179 million to launch production of the 1.4-liter, 16-valve Fully Integrated Robotized Engine (FIRE) at the company’s Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance (GEMA) plant in Dundee, Mich., creating more than 150 new Chrysler jobs; and committed to investing more than $343 million in its transmission facilities in Kokomo, Ind.
Upon arrival at the 1.5-million-square-foot assembly plant, the Vice President was greeted by the Chrysler Group LLC CEO, Marchionne, who took him and other invited guests on a tour of the facility’s trim line. The Vice President stopped at a variety of locations to talk with employees on the line including windshield, header seal, rear carpet, visor, support bar foam cover and wiper installations.
