Chrysler’s Newark Plant (Delaware), 1951-2008: Tanks to Aspens

photos by Thomas Mize, December 2008

Chrysler’s 3.4 million square foot plant in Newark, Delaware, was built in 1951 to produce tanks for the U.S. Army. The plant was converted to Plymouth and Dodge production in April 1957, starting a run of nearly 7 million cars, including the LH series (Intrepid and Concorde), the AA bodies (EEKs) (Acclaim, Spirit, LeBaron), and the legendary A-body Valiant and Dart before starting Dodge Durango production. In 1969 alone, the Newark plant produced 186,177 Plymouth Furys, Dodge Polaras, and C-body Chryslers.

In 1997, Chrysler put $623 million into the Newark plant to ready it for the Dodge Durango. A nearby simulation building, similar to Checkboard Square, "allowed us to duplicate in exact terms the manufacturing process in a real-world environment, well before actual production began," said James A. Wolfe, Newark Assembly Plant Manager. "We were able to create each job site, map out each station, and then carry it over in its precise measurements to the manufacturing floor. All this was done using the existing workforce, which will help reduce variability and improve vehicle quality."

A $319 million paint shop was added, as well as a new training facility, an upgraded 1.2-mile test track, new material handling fleet, and new electric torque controls on the assembly line. The Durango paint shop used environmentally-friendly, reformulated lead-free E-coat primers and water-borne paints, with other measures to decrease volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions.

The plant was closed in December, 2008 due to falling sales of the Durango / Aspen. It had just started producing hybrid-electric versions of both vehicles, and had 1,100 employees, down from 2,115 in 2005. The plant was reportedly showing signs of age in its infrastructure.

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Nearby, the parts distribution center also closed in 2008.