Archive for the 'Factories' Category
October 24th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
The University of Delaware has inked a deal to buy Chrysler’s former Newark Assembly Plant. The school got a good deal, paying $24.25 million, just over half of the property’s estimated value. In order to facilitate the deal, the university agreed to take responsibility for environmental remediation at the site.
UD plans to turn the 272-acre site into facilities for education and research and school officials say the deal could bring thousands of new jobs to the region and will increase the capacity of the graduate school.
The Newark Assembly Plant opened as a tank plant in 1951 and was converted to automobile production in 1957. Its most recent products were the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango. The Newark facility was one of the properties shed during Chrysler’s bankruptcy.
Thanks to “gr8 dave” for the tip!
October 2nd, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
Dashing hopes that refreshes of the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger indicated company executives were re-thinking the closure of the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne says the plant will be shuttered at the end of 2010 as originally planned.
Marchionne said he has ruled out major refreshes to the two sedans, which never met their sales targets, meaning there is no new product for the facility which employees about 1,300 workers.
September 29th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
Contrary to rumors appearing in various media sources, Chrysler Group spokesman Max Gates says there have been no changes to the company’s plans to shutter the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant by the end of 2010. Employees at the factory, which builds the slow-selling Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger, had been encouraged by news the two cars would receive facelifts that would keep them in production at least until 2011.
Gates did not have any comment about what plans the company has to transfer production of the refreshed cars to another plant. Chrysler is due to unveil a detailed five-year strategy in November.
September 29th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
About 400 hourly employees from the Chrysler stamping plant in Twinsburg, Ohio will be given an opportunity to come to the Motor City and fill positions at the Warren and Sterling stamping plants. Chrysler says 150 of the workers could go to Warren with the balance being assigned to Sterling.
The Twinsburg plant was one of the facilities left behind when the new Chrysler Group LLC was formed from the assets of the former Chrysler LLC. It is now owned by Old Carco LLC, the entity formed to liquidate the old Chrysler’s remaining assets., and is scheduled to be closed by the end of 2009.
September 28th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
While workers at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant rally to save their jobs, Automotive News is reporting the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger have been given another chance. The Sebring will get a significant facelift for the 2011 model year while a revamped Avenger will appear somewhat sooner as less work is required.
The Sterling Heights plant had been slated for closure at the end of 2010 with the cancellation of the Sebring and Avenger, but AN says the Fiat models intended to replace them won’t be ready for at least two more years, meaning they won’t be available until the 2012 model year at the earliest.
September 27th, 2009 by DaveAdmin
Even under Daimler rule, Chrysler engineers pushed forward with what one engineer observer called a state of the art transmissions that eliminated most of the disadvantages of its competitors. The dual-clutch automatic transmission, a manual transmission with two clutches which was operated without the need for driver input, would be smoother than a conventional automatic or manual, and get better gas mileage than an automatic. It would, according to insiders, even be less expensive than the Mercedes five-speed automatic, though pricier than the Chrysler six-speed automatic.
This transmission was dropped, though, as Chrysler and Getrag fought a legal battle about who would pay for the factory where it was to be built. Nearly a year ago, Getrag’s division for building the transmissions filed for bankruptcy and all work on the plant stopped.
Now, the Kokomo Tribune quoted the Howey Political Report as saying that Chrysler may be interested in picking it back up, though they will face competition from a renewable-energy firm which wants to make solar panels there. The Tribune’s sources said that Chrysler had been interested in the plant a few months ago, but was not interested now.
The plant was 90% finished, with a half billion dollars invested. The bankruptcy court, acting in the Getrag case (unrelated to Chrysler LLC), gave the plant to a group of contractors who were owed money, ordering them to sell it for at least $45 million.
(Thanks, KCP Worker.)
September 16th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne announced the some Chrysler vehicles will be built at the plant Fiat recently acquired from the former Carrozzeria Bertone.
Marchionne would not specify the exact models to be built at the plant in Grugliasco, near Turin, but sources say production could begin as early as 2011. A leading candidate would be the replacement for the European version of the Chrysler 300C which is due that year. Currently, the 300C for the European market is built by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria. Magna Steyr also builds the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The contracts for both vehicles end next year and renewal may not be an option as Magna International, parent company to Magna Steyr, will likely be the majority owner of former GM German subsidiary Opel.
Marchionne also said a new, five-year business plan for Chrysler will be released in November.
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