Reply #17: Money, Unions and a Different Story In US Papers........oh and

[Alamom]

Canada is in a little trouble with their auto industry...

COMMENTS WELCOME


In addition to lower training costs, Canadian workers are also $4 to $5 cheaper to employ partly thanks to the taxpayer-funded health-care system in Canada, said federal Industry Minister David Emmerson.

Tanguay said Toyota's decision on where to build its seventh North American plant was "not only about money."

The factory will cost $800 million to build, with the federal and provincial governments kicking in $125 million of that to help cover research, training and infrastructure costs.

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/050630/b0630102.html
(The link, same story. One tiny fact left out. MONEY)




Toyota V6 Engine Production begins in Alabama
2005/9/12 9:55:27

Toyota V6 Engine Production begins in Alabama
Huntsville, Ala. -- Alabama and Huntsville area leaders joined Toyota (NYSE:TM) officials and team members August 29 for a celebration marking the production of the first V6 engine at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama (TMMAL). TMMAL now employs more than 500 team members and has the capacity to produce 120,000 V8 and 130,000 V6 engines annually. An expansion underway to increase V8 production will further boost employment to 800 and total investment to nearly a half billion dollars by 2006.

Toyota Motor Corporation Executive Vice President Takeshi Uchiyamada addressed the plant’s team members and thanked them for their talent and work ethic.

“This V6 engine will power the Toyota Tundra and Toyota Tacoma, named Motor Trend’s Truck of the Year for 2005,” he said. “You have, once again, been given a great responsibility for producing a product very important to our company and you have shown your ability to respond to the challenge.”

Kunihiko Ogura, president of TMMAL since April, congratulated team members and thanked the state and local community for its support.
We have a bright future ahead for TMMAL, for this community and for Alabama,” Ogura added.


http://www.autospectator.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1893


Foreign Automakers Continue Expansions into the South

Companies continue to build plants, grow work force throughout the region, thanks in part to states’ willingness to attract them.



< 9/14/2005 > By: Ken Krizner, Managing Editor

For the past two decades, foreign automobile manufacturers have redefined the industry landscape in the United States. They have sought out large expanses of land in the southern portion of the country from which to establish its grip on the U.S. market.

Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Texas, eager to grow their manufacturing bases, have welcomed foreign automakers with numerous incentives, an abundant supply of industrial sites, a skilled work force and a non-union environment.

“They are very interested in bringing jobs and supporting jobs in the South,” said Jim Morton

Canton, Miss
The company employs about 5,300 workers in Canton, and an additional 30,000 jobs have been created as a result of suppliers locating near the facility. By 2010, more than 26,000 additional high-wage jobs will be created, including those directly employed by the facility, and suppliers, retailers, service and support operations needed to accommodate the operation.

Nissan so believed that it had made the right choice in selecting Canton that it announced an expansion halfway through the original construction. The automaker added 1 million square feet to the original 2.5 million square feet.

Hyundai Opens Alabama Facility


South Korea-based Hyundai is hoping for success in the south similar to Nissan and Toyota. In May, the company began operations at its assembly plant in Montgomery, Ala. It is Hyundai’s first U.S. manufacturing plant.

Alabama, in turn, is hoping for similar success that Mercedes-Benz and Honda have found after siting manufacturing plants in the state.

Hyundai is producing the next generation Sonata with 2,000 employees. Next year, the automaker will begin production on the Santa Fe SUV. More employees will be added next month when the second shift begins.

At full capacity, the plant will produce 300,000 vehicles annually.

http://www.expansionmanagement.com/smo/newsviewer/default.asp?cmd=articledetail&articleid=16643&st=3


(Jumping ship on the battered South?)
Ripples felt far and wide
Hurricane may take huge toll on energy, commerce

By Adam Geller, Associated Press
September 2, 2005


Katrina's bottom lines

• Automakers: Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast, but it also could slam an inland spot: Detroit. Even as the natural disaster sends gasoline prices soaring, the auto industry still is banking on the same sorts of products that have sustained it in the last decade, when fuel prices were relatively low: gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. As a result, everyone from beleaguered General Motors Corp., which is rolling out a slew of new big trucks in hopes of restoring profits, to vaunted Japanese competitors such as Toyota Motor Corp. is under threat.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/business/article/0,1299,DRMN_4_4048593,00.html

,00.html

Mercedes-Benz
U. S. International
Tuscaloosa County, Alabama
Welcome to Tuscaloosa County Alabama, U.S.A, and the factory where the 2nd generation M-Class and the newest member of our Mercedes-Benz line, the R-Class is manufactured.

Mercedes-Benz U.S. International (MBUSI) started with a clean sheet of paper, in terms of vehicle concept, in the way it would produce the M-Class and the R-Class, in the design of the factory, and in the establishment of a new corporate culture . The result is Mercedes-Benz vehicles which will set the standard in the industry.

We build the M-Class and the R-Class here in Alabama using MBUSI’s original production system which is a combination of American, Japanese, and German automotive best practices. This process contributes to the quality manufacturing of our products in a way that is safe, efficient, and predictable.

http://www.mbusi.com/



Mercedes Manufacturing Excellence… in Alabama
Welcome to Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, U.S.A., and the manufacturing facility where the M-Class and the newest member of the Mercedes-Benz line, the R-Class is assembled. Everything is under one roof… from Body, Paint, and Assembly shops to Administration. This unity helps to emphasize the importance of teamwork and fosters team member communication in order to help build consistent quality into all our Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

MBUSI Factory MBUSI's Production Capacity Expands …
Since 2001, MBUSI has undergone a $600 million expansion that doubled production capacity to 160,000 vehicles per year, doubled the workforce to approximately 4,000, and doubled the size of the plant to about three-million square feet. Total capital investment in Tuscaloosa is now more than $1 billion.



http://www.mbusi.com/pages/factory_home.asp



Saturday, July 19, 2003


UAW says it will unionize Alabama Mercedes plant


By Associated Pres


VANCE, Ala. -- After years of trying, the United Auto Workers claims it will soon unionize the Mercedez-Benz plant in Alabama, a move that would be a major boost for labor.

http://www.detnews.com/2003/autosinsider/0307/19/autos-221385.htm



Canadian Auto Industry: The Road Ahead

That experience and a few years spent as chairman of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association of Canada gave him the equivalent of a front seat during the rollercoaster ride the country's most important manufacturing industry has endured in the past six years.

Picture the years leading up to 1999 -- when Canada came close to producing more vehicles than Michigan -- as the long climb to the top.

Then came the plunge, as three Canadian assembly plants and thousands of jobs disappeared and it seemed like a new plant was being announced every day in the U.S. South. The bottom hit in 2003, when DaimlerChrysler AG scrapped plans to build a new assembly plant in Windsor.

"To lose that was like a kick in the guts," says Buzz Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers. The union thought it had won a commitment for the plant during 2002 contract negotiations.


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050915/SRAUTOMAIN15/TPBusiness/Canadian



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