Honda Manufacturing of Alabama (HMA) has marked the production start at its new US$71.4m facility which the automaker said was “a breakthrough” for its engine production in North America with the development of more highly automated assembly, including piston fitting.
The new facility will supply V6 engines for the Odyssey minivans, Pilot sport utility vehicles and Acura MDX luxury SUVs made in Lincoln.
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“Our new automated engine assembly line is the most advanced facility of its kind at any Honda operation across the globe,” said Jeff Tomko, HMA president.
Since the start of engine production at the plant on 14 November 2001, HMA has cast and assembled all V6 engines fitted in vehicles produced at the factory – now over 3.4m units.
The new facility has 250 workers on two shifts producing 1,500 V6s a day with help from 92 robots. The automated system performs a wide variety of parts handling and parts installation functions inside the 186,000 sq ft facility.
The engine assembly line includes a robotic station which can assemble around 9,000 pistons daily, at a cycle time of six seconds per piston. The line also features a fully-automated piston installation process, a first for any Honda engine plant.
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By GlobalDataHMA is the sole source of the Odyssey, Pilot and Acura MDX plus their V6 engines.
Honda confirmed earlier in 2015 the next generation Ridgeline pickup truck would go into production at HMA early in 2016.
HMA employs 4,000 people at the 3.7m square foot Lincoln factory which can build 340,000 vehicles and engines each year. Over the past three years, HMA spent $510m and added 450 jobs as it expanded to improve flexibility and increase annual output.
