Chrysler deal to bring 500 jobs
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02-04-2005 | 09:42 PM
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Chrysler deal to bring 500 jobs
Chrysler deal to bring 500 jobs
A parts sorting center will be built next to the Belvidere plant.
BELVIDERE — DaimlerChrysler announced Thursday a new parts sorting center will be built next to the company’s Belvidere assembly plant and will employ 500 people through another company.
DaimlerChrysler awarded a $200 million, multiyear automotive parts sequencing contract to TDS/US, a Brownstown, Mich.-based company. It is a minority-owned joint venture with TDS Automotive, based in London, Ontario. TDS has about 4,500 employees in 10 nations.
DaimlerChrysler is expected to begin construction on the 500,000-square-foot building, roughly the size of Machesney Park Mall, within the year and will retain ownership of the structure.
The announcement comes on the heels of DaimlerChrysler’s Jan. 26 news that the company would add 1,000 jobs and a second shift as part of a $419 million expansion and retooling of the Belvidere plant, which employs 1,700, to accommodate production of up to four new vehicles. The company received $36.7 million in state and local tax incentives.
Thursday’s announcement was the fifth major jobs addition tied to the Chrysler expansion. Four other parts suppliers have begun operations or are constructing warehouses in what is becoming a supplier belt around the 2.6 million-square-foot plant.
“We anticipate more announcements to be forthcoming ... such as additional suppliers, additional jobs and investment,” said Mark Williams, executive director of Growth Dimensions, Boone County’s economic development group. “I anticipate more announcements that could eventually reach a level of 3,000 or more.”
All this is part of a national trend in automotive manufacturing. Components have traditionally been manufactured inside large assembly plants. Companies now are moving toward contracting with outside companies to deliver the parts just in time for final assembly.
More than 2,300 automotive parts will be sorted and managed in the TDS/US warehouse and then be supplied to the plant for final assembly, said Ed Saenz, a DaimlerChrysler spokesman.
Saenz said sequencing jobs inside the Belvidere plant would be phased out but the company will "assimilate" the sequencing employees into other positions at the plant. Officials would not give details. Workers inside the sequencing plant would be TDS/US employees.
The company expects to save 12 percent annually in Belvidere by farming out the process to TDS/US, rather than doing it in-house.
"It is an expertise of theirs," Saenz said. "We have been, for a few years now, focusing on our core competencies," such as design, marketing, selling, and final assembly and trim.
DaimlerChrysler officials declined to comment on the wages expected for TDS/US employees. United Auto Workers Local 1268, which represents DaimlerChrysler employees, did not return phone calls Thursday from the Rockford Register Star. TDS/US officials did not return calls.
The news excited local officials. Since January 1998, the region has lost 14,700 factory jobs.
"I don't know if it could be much better," Belvidere Mayor Fred Brereton said.
Brereton said he expected a "domino effect" of jobs and spending to ripple across the entire region. And he said the investment in the area could drum up interest in other companies outside the automotive industry.
"Clearly, when you look at what's going on in the Chrysler plant, it doesn't stop at the Belvidere borders," he said. "You begin to realize the impact of this. You're going to see more retail sales, which creates jobs. There's a great trickle-down effect. It bodes well for the future."
-Matt-
A parts sorting center will be built next to the Belvidere plant.
BELVIDERE — DaimlerChrysler announced Thursday a new parts sorting center will be built next to the company’s Belvidere assembly plant and will employ 500 people through another company.
DaimlerChrysler awarded a $200 million, multiyear automotive parts sequencing contract to TDS/US, a Brownstown, Mich.-based company. It is a minority-owned joint venture with TDS Automotive, based in London, Ontario. TDS has about 4,500 employees in 10 nations.
DaimlerChrysler is expected to begin construction on the 500,000-square-foot building, roughly the size of Machesney Park Mall, within the year and will retain ownership of the structure.
The announcement comes on the heels of DaimlerChrysler’s Jan. 26 news that the company would add 1,000 jobs and a second shift as part of a $419 million expansion and retooling of the Belvidere plant, which employs 1,700, to accommodate production of up to four new vehicles. The company received $36.7 million in state and local tax incentives.
Thursday’s announcement was the fifth major jobs addition tied to the Chrysler expansion. Four other parts suppliers have begun operations or are constructing warehouses in what is becoming a supplier belt around the 2.6 million-square-foot plant.
“We anticipate more announcements to be forthcoming ... such as additional suppliers, additional jobs and investment,” said Mark Williams, executive director of Growth Dimensions, Boone County’s economic development group. “I anticipate more announcements that could eventually reach a level of 3,000 or more.”
All this is part of a national trend in automotive manufacturing. Components have traditionally been manufactured inside large assembly plants. Companies now are moving toward contracting with outside companies to deliver the parts just in time for final assembly.
More than 2,300 automotive parts will be sorted and managed in the TDS/US warehouse and then be supplied to the plant for final assembly, said Ed Saenz, a DaimlerChrysler spokesman.
Saenz said sequencing jobs inside the Belvidere plant would be phased out but the company will "assimilate" the sequencing employees into other positions at the plant. Officials would not give details. Workers inside the sequencing plant would be TDS/US employees.
The company expects to save 12 percent annually in Belvidere by farming out the process to TDS/US, rather than doing it in-house.
"It is an expertise of theirs," Saenz said. "We have been, for a few years now, focusing on our core competencies," such as design, marketing, selling, and final assembly and trim.
DaimlerChrysler officials declined to comment on the wages expected for TDS/US employees. United Auto Workers Local 1268, which represents DaimlerChrysler employees, did not return phone calls Thursday from the Rockford Register Star. TDS/US officials did not return calls.
The news excited local officials. Since January 1998, the region has lost 14,700 factory jobs.
"I don't know if it could be much better," Belvidere Mayor Fred Brereton said.
Brereton said he expected a "domino effect" of jobs and spending to ripple across the entire region. And he said the investment in the area could drum up interest in other companies outside the automotive industry.
"Clearly, when you look at what's going on in the Chrysler plant, it doesn't stop at the Belvidere borders," he said. "You begin to realize the impact of this. You're going to see more retail sales, which creates jobs. There's a great trickle-down effect. It bodes well for the future."
-Matt-
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