Chrysler Group has confirmed a spend of US$63m at its Warren stamping plant in Michigan to expand capacity.
The announcement followed Warren City Council’s May approval of a tax abatement request.
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The automaker will install a new, high-speed servo tandem press technology (180 inch press line). Construction has already begun with production targeted to begin in December 2015. The new line will increase capacity by up to 12,000 impressions per day (3.6m a year). The plant currently operates 12 major press lines and three large progressive press lines, producing 80m 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. “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.”
The automaker said the servo tandem press will increase output rate, reduce press complexity and improve reliability and maintainability while also reducing energy usage. The servo drive allows for 100% 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 [aka transfer] 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 has operated since 1949, providing hoods [bonnets], roofs, lift/tailgates, side apertures, fenders and floor pans for a variety of vehicles built at several of the company’s US and Canadian factories.
Chrysler noted it had now spent over $5.3bn on its US factories since June 2009 – $1.8bn in Michigan.
