Chrysler invests US$63M in new press line at Michigan plant

AUBURN HILLS, Mich.—A Chrysler Group LLC plant in Michigan is getting a US$63-million upgrade after receiving a tax break from the local municipal government.

The automaker said it is building a new press line at its stamping plant in Warren, Mich.—Detroit’s largest suburb—after having its tax abatement request approved by city council.

Chrysler did not disclose details of the tax break.

The investment in the new press line will see a new high-speed tandem press installed, adding to the 15 existing press lines at the plant that produces 80 million parts annually.

The new press line will boost capacity by 3.6 million parts per year, according to Chrysler.

“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,” Chrysler vice-president and manufacturing head Mauro Pino said in a statement.

“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.”

Opened in 1949, the Warren plant stamps sheet metal parts, including hoods, roofs, tailgates, fenders and floor pans, for a host of Chrysler models, including the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans, Dodge Durango and Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee SUVs, Ram pickup trucks and the Dodge Dart compact sedan.

The new line is scheduled to open by December 2015.

The latest investment adds to the more than US$1.8 million Chrysler has spent in its Michigan facilities since June 2009.