To thunderous applause,
more than 1,500 UAW-represented employees at Chrysler
Group LLC’s Jefferson North (Detroit) Assembly Plant (JNAP)
welcomed President Obama to the home of the all-new 2011
Jeep Grand Cherokee today.
The President visited the Chrysler plant 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 $143 million for the first quarter
of 2010; has added a second shift of production – or
nearly 1,100 jobs – at JNAP; launched the all-new 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.
During the President’s visit, Chrysler Group CEO Sergio
Marchionne announced that Sterling Heights (Mich.)
Assembly Plant (SHAP), which was scheduled to close
after 2012, will now remain open beyond that date. In
addition, he announced that the Company will add nearly
900 jobs on a second shift of production, scheduled to
start in the first quarter of 2011. To support that
operation, suppliers will add nearly 500 jobs.
Marchionne also said
that Chrysler also expects its European and South
American sales to double between 2010 and 2011, to
nearly 200,000 sales. This increase in sales is largely
attributable to Chrysler’s ability to leverage Fiat’s
international distribution networks, particularly in
those markets. “We were honored to have the President
come to Jefferson North today,” said Marchionne. “It was
because of the courageousness of his decision that
Chrysler has been able to survive, and in fact thrive, a
little more than a year after bankruptcy.”
The President’s Visit to JNAP
Upon arrival at the nearly 3-million-square-foot
assembly plant, one of the last in an urban setting and
the site of Grand Cherokee production since its
introduction in 1992, the President was greeted by
Marchionne and JNAP Plant Manager Pat Walsh, who took
him and other invited guests on a tour of the facility’s
all-new flexible body shop that is delivering the most
precise body dimensions ever built. The President
stopped to talk with employees on the panel line, a
station on the assembly line where the doors are married
with the vehicle body before it goes to the paint shop.
In preparation for production of the all-new Grand
Cherokee, JNAP went through a complete transformation as
part of World Class Manufacturing (WCM), an extensive
and thorough process to restore all Chrysler Group
facilities to their original and maximum functionality.
JNAP employees have gone through nearly 45,000 hours of
training, and have planned and executed hundreds of
projects aimed at improving the work environment,
maximizing quality, minimizing waste and preparing for
the new product. Employees have also submitted over
2,500 suggestions on how to further improve the
processes to ensure the highest quality Grand Cherokee
rolls off the line. These changes, throughout paint and
assembly operations, have given the facility an all-new
level of manufacturing flexibility for multiple product
capability. In total, Chrysler Group invested $686
million on the Grand Cherokee program, which included
investments at the plant. Nearly four million Grand
Cherokees have rolled off the line since 1992.
ItaliaspeedTV
- President Obama address Chrysler Group workers at the
Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit
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