Toledo Complex

Smokestacks dating to 1910 at the Parkway Annex, Toledo Complex. The outer stacks were demolished in 2007.

The Toledo Complex is an automobile factory in Toledo, Ohio. Now owned by Chrysler, sections of the facility have operated as an automobile assembly plant since 1910, originally for Willys-Overland vehicles. The Toledo complex has assembled Jeeps since the 1940s, and comprises two factories: Toledo North and Toledo South, which itself includes the Stickney Plant and the Parkway Annex.

Toledo South

Willys-Overland Co. factory (1915)

The Toledo South Assembly Plant is the original Jeep CJ assembly factory. It was rebuilt for manufacture of the JK Wrangler for Jeep, starting on August 28, 2006. The plant actually consists of two interconnected units, the Stickney Plant (4000 Stickney Ave) and the Parkway Annex (1000 Jeep Parkway). In recent years, basic assembly and painting of the Jeep Wrangler has been done in the Parkway facility. The antiquated arrangement at the old operation included operations spread through a disorganized array of buildings which required that vehicles and components be moved through multiple building levels. Final assembly of vehicles took place at Stickney, but facility constraints required that bodies first be painted at Parkway and then moved through tunnels and across bridges to reach the assembly line. Both the Stickney and Parkway sites were replaced by Toledo Supplier Park in 2007.

Stickney

The Stickney Plant (41°41′40″N 83°31′31″W / 41.69444°N 83.52528°W / 41.69444; -83.52528 (Stickney Plant / Toledo Supplier Park)) was opened in 1942 by Autolite and sold to Kaiser-Jeep in 1964. It was used as a machining and engine plant until 1981, when it was converted for vehicle production by American Motors Corporation (AMC). It began producing the Jeep Grand Wagoneer that year through 1991 when final assembly of the Wrangler was moved there. In 1987, when Chrysler acquired AMC, it was renamed Toledo Assembly Plant.[1]

Parkway

Remaining smokestack (2016)

The Parkway Annex (41°40′57″N 83°33′55″W / 41.68250°N 83.56528°W / 41.68250; -83.56528 (Parkway Annex)) was opened in 1904 as a bicycle factory. Its use as an automobile assembly plant dates from 1910, when it was purchased by Willys-Overland. The plant began producing the Jeep in the 1940s and was renamed the Toledo Assembly Plant when Chrysler purchased American Motors (AMC) in 1987. Basic assembly and painting of the Wrangler body was done at the Parkway plant through 2006, when it was closed.

The Parkway plant included landmark smokestacks spelling out "Overland" in bricks. It was home to military Jeep production, as well as the Jeep museum. One third of the plant was demolished in 2002, including the former museum, and the remainder is being demolished. Two of the three "Overland" smokestacks, a Toledo landmark since 1915, were demolished on June 18, 2007. The future of the remaining stack, left alone by Chrysler LLC, is subject to the development plans of a future owner; the site is not for sale.[2]

Toledo Supplier Park

Toledo Supplier Park opened in 2007 by DaimlerChrysler to produce the new Jeep Wrangler. The name comes from the two on-site suppliers who make different parts for the Wrangler. There is Mobis North America (formerly OMMC) owned by Hyundai Mobis, which assembles the chassis, axles and power train, and KUKA Systems, which operates the body shop; both employ their own employees and control their own operations. While the suppliers may make most of the parts, final assembly is done by Chrysler.[3][4] The Toledo Supplier Park sits on the same site as the Stickney Plant.

Toledo North

The Toledo North Assembly Plant (41°41′46″N 83°31′10″W / 41.69611°N 83.51944°W / 41.69611; -83.51944 (Toledo North Assembly Plant)) was opened in 2001, building the unibody Jeep Liberty. The 2.14-million-square-foot (199,000 m2) plant sits on 200 acres (81 ha) at 4400 Chrysler Drive, and construction began in 1997.[5] The plant employs 3,408 workers.[5]

Products made

Past

References

  1. ↑ "Toledo Supplier Park". American Auto Worker. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "Part of Toledo's Automotive History Falling". Toledo Blade. 20 October 2006. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  3. ↑ McKinnon, Julie M. (11 February 2007). "Bumpy at first, assembly smooths out for Wrangler". The Toledo Blade. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  4. ↑ "Chrysler Group's Toledo Supplier Park Opens the Doors to Production of All-New 2007 Jeep(R) Wrangler". The Auto Channel. 2006. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Toledo North Assembly Plant". daimlerchrysler.com. 2008. Archived from the original on 6 June 2008. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  6. ↑ McKINNON, JULIE. "Nation’s longest-operating auto plant faces final days". Offroaders.com. Retrieved 7 July 2014.

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