Chrysler Group Announces $63 Million Investment in Warren Stamping Plant

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Jun 25, 2014, 09:15 ET

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., June 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Investment will expand capacity at the 65-year-old Michigan facility
New press line will support production at five U.S. and Canadian assembly plants
Total investments in U.S. facilities grow to over $5.3 billion since June 2009

Chrysler Group confirmed today that it would invest $63 million in its Warren Stamping Plant (Mich.) to expand capacity at the facility. The announcement comes following the Warren City Council's approval in May of the Company's tax abatement request.

The investment will be used to purchase and install the latest high-speed Servo Tandem Press technology (a 180-inch press line). Construction for the new press line has already begun with production targeted to begin December 2015. The new press line will increase capacity by up to 12,000 hits per day or approximately 3.6 million parts per year. The plant currently operates 12 major press lines and three large progressive press lines*, producing 80 million parts annually, with nearly 2,000 employees.

"As production at our Chrysler Group assembly plants has nearly tripled in the past five years, we have been pushing our stamping facilities to keep up," said Mauro Pino, Vice President and Head of Manufacturing, Chrysler Group. "This much-needed investment for a new press line will help us continue to meet demand and maintain the quality that our stamping plants have worked so hard to achieve."

"Chrysler Group wants to thank Mayor Fouts and the Warren City Council for their support of this investment," said Brian Glowiak, Director, State Relations, Chrysler Group. "For many years, the City of Warren has been a true partner in helping the Company grow our operations at our local facilities. With the city's support, we can implement state-of-the-art processes that will contribute to the long-term success of the Chrysler Group and enhance our presence in the community."

The new Servo Tandem Press will increase the output rate, reduce complexity of the press, and improve reliability and maintainability, while also reducing energy usage. The press's servo drive allows for 100 percent programmable control and movement of the ram speed at any position in the press stroke unlike a mechanical press that operates at a fixed speed. The Tandem Press is multiple presses in line in series, under which a single die is positioned in each press to perform an incremental function to make the stamped part.

The Warren Stamping Plant, which has been in operation since 1949, provides parts stamped from sheet metal, including hoods, roofs, liftgates, side apertures, fenders and floor pans, for a variety of vehicles built at several of the Company's U.S. and Canadian facilities including:

Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country, Windsor Assembly Plant (Ont.)
Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jefferson North Assembly Plant (Detroit)
Dodge Dart, Belvidere Assembly Plant (Ill.)
Jeep Cherokee, Toledo Assembly Complex (Ohio)
Ram Trucks, Warren Truck Assembly Plant (Mich.)

These parts are delivered to the assembly plants, then welded together in the body shops to form the frame of the vehicle.

With this latest announcement, Chrysler Group has invested over $5.3 billion in its U.S. manufacturing facilities since June 2009. Of that amount, more than $1.8 billion has been spent in Michigan.

*A progressive press line is a single press with one slide in which a single die with multiple "progressive" stations produce parts at high speed from a single coil of steel directly.

About Chrysler Group LLC
Chrysler Group LLC, formed in 2009 to establish a global strategic alliance with Fiat S.p.A., produces Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge SRT, Ram, FIAT and Mopar vehicles and products. With the resources, technology and worldwide distribution network required to compete on a global scale, the alliance builds on Chrysler Group's culture of innovation, first established by Walter P. Chrysler in 1925, and Fiat's complementary technology that dates back to its founding in 1899.

Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Mich., Chrysler Group's product lineup features some of the world's most recognizable vehicles, including the Chrysler 300 and Town & Country, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Dart, Ram 1500, Dodge Viper SRT and Fiat 500. Fiat contributes world-class technology, platforms and powertrains for small- and medium-size cars, allowing Chrysler Group to offer an expanded product line including environmentally friendly vehicles.

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