davecanuck
09-30-2009, 04:53 PM
The president of CAW Local 444 says he expects to hear of Chrysler’s plans for a complete redesign of the Town and Country and Dodge Caravan models, as well as the introduction of a mini minivan, when union officials meet next month with CEO Sergio Marchionne.
“I’m assuming we’re going to talk about future product at the Windsor Assembly Plant,” said Rick Laporte. “They’ve got a lot of their apples in the minivan basket, and I think there’s more good news coming for Windsor in the future.”
As well as Laporte, CAW president Ken Lewenza and other senior union staff are slated to meet with Marchionne Oct. 15 at the automaker’s headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich.
The face-to-face session with Marchionne — the first since the CAW signed a cost-cutting deal with Chrysler last April — is expected to give the union a preview of the CEO’s five-year business plan, which is expected to be publicly unveiled in either the first or second week of November.
Based on his conversations with plant management, Laporte said he expects Marchionne to disclose plans for minivan redesign as well as the introduction of a smaller minivan.
“There’s nothing built by Chrysler in that category,” said Laporte. The mini minivan would be one of the first vehicles to marry Fiat technology and Chrysler design, he said.
On Friday, the company’s board of directors received details of the strategy, which includes redesigns of up to five models, including the Jeep Compass and Chrysler Sebring, according to a company source who has seen the product plan.
As has been widely reported, Chrysler’s plant in Toluca, Mexico, will be awarded the Fiat 500 mini vehicle, plus a new paint shop, the source said, although Belvidere, Ill., was also a contender for the vehicle.
John Wolkonowicz, auto industry analyst at IHS Global Insight, said production of a mini minivan for the North American market was included in Chrysler’s massive restructuring. “There’d be no problem building it in Windsor”— a flexible assembly plant, said Wolkonowicz. “There would be some retooling necessary, but to switch to the other platform is not cheap, but not enough to cause them to close the plant.”
The vehicle “would be a unit-body, front-wheel drive-based vehicle off a Fiat platform — like a typical Chrysler minivan, but smaller, about the size of a Mazda5.”
The mini minivan is a “burgeoning segment here,” he added. “We call it entry compact MVP (multi-purpose vehicle.) Toyota, Honda, GM and Ford are all entering that segment. Kia is already there, as is Mazda.
“We believe that could be the vehicle that Generation Y (children of baby boomers) hauls their kids in," said Wolkonowicz, who estimated that the mini minivan won’t be launched until 2013 at the earliest.
A redesign of the current minivan product will likely occur in 2015 or 2016, he said.
Meanwhile, Chrysler plants across North America are busy trying to implement Fiat’s world class manufacturing system — a process designed to cut costs while bolstering efficiency and quality, said Laporte.
Earlier this month, Fiat Group manufacturing boss Stefan Ketter visited both the Windsor and Brampton assembly plants for a tour and update on the facilities’ implementation of WCM, said Laporte.
“We’re all going to get a written report,” he said. “Ketter thought we could be further ahead than we are. We have more work to do, but he didn’t give any of the Chrysler plants in North America an A-plus. He had criticisms of all plants.”
In Brampton, which is in the running for an Alfa sports car, Ketter cited problems with cleanliness, said Leon Rideout, president of CAW Local 1285.
“One of the things they look at is the cleanliness of a facility. They want the assembly plants to be like hospitals,” said Rideout. “Ketter is looking at our plant as the luxury division of Chrysler, but he told us the place has to be clean and painted. He said ‘Why would I put a nice car in a place like this?”
“We explained that the place has been neglected because of cost cutting. Going back 10 to 15 years, our plant used to be the benchmark in Chrysler. After all, we assemble the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Challenger. Everything was always nice, freshly painted. But during all the cost cutting measures going back to restructuring of 2001, that’s the stuff they found easy to cut — regular maintenance.”
Nibbly
Modelled on the Toyota production system, Fiat World Class Manufacturing is a process aimed at cutting costs while boosting efficiency and quality, said Rick Laporte, president of CAW Local 444.
“The difference between the old Chrysler version and the new Fiat system is the intensity in which Fiat is launching it. Fiat has launched the system in 300 plants around the world; all have their unique culture, and some are better than others,” said Laporte.
Workers are divided into teams of 10 and are required to spot any problems early in the production process, he said. “This system is more contained right on the work station — right where the worker builds the car. It’s empowering workers and it’s a commitment by management to address problems quickly in the process. Sometimes it may mean shutting the assembly line down in order to fix that quality problem before moving forward.”
The plants that are among the first to implement WCM will likely be rewarded with new product commitments, he said.
“I’m assuming we’re going to talk about future product at the Windsor Assembly Plant,” said Rick Laporte. “They’ve got a lot of their apples in the minivan basket, and I think there’s more good news coming for Windsor in the future.”
As well as Laporte, CAW president Ken Lewenza and other senior union staff are slated to meet with Marchionne Oct. 15 at the automaker’s headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich.
The face-to-face session with Marchionne — the first since the CAW signed a cost-cutting deal with Chrysler last April — is expected to give the union a preview of the CEO’s five-year business plan, which is expected to be publicly unveiled in either the first or second week of November.
Based on his conversations with plant management, Laporte said he expects Marchionne to disclose plans for minivan redesign as well as the introduction of a smaller minivan.
“There’s nothing built by Chrysler in that category,” said Laporte. The mini minivan would be one of the first vehicles to marry Fiat technology and Chrysler design, he said.
On Friday, the company’s board of directors received details of the strategy, which includes redesigns of up to five models, including the Jeep Compass and Chrysler Sebring, according to a company source who has seen the product plan.
As has been widely reported, Chrysler’s plant in Toluca, Mexico, will be awarded the Fiat 500 mini vehicle, plus a new paint shop, the source said, although Belvidere, Ill., was also a contender for the vehicle.
John Wolkonowicz, auto industry analyst at IHS Global Insight, said production of a mini minivan for the North American market was included in Chrysler’s massive restructuring. “There’d be no problem building it in Windsor”— a flexible assembly plant, said Wolkonowicz. “There would be some retooling necessary, but to switch to the other platform is not cheap, but not enough to cause them to close the plant.”
The vehicle “would be a unit-body, front-wheel drive-based vehicle off a Fiat platform — like a typical Chrysler minivan, but smaller, about the size of a Mazda5.”
The mini minivan is a “burgeoning segment here,” he added. “We call it entry compact MVP (multi-purpose vehicle.) Toyota, Honda, GM and Ford are all entering that segment. Kia is already there, as is Mazda.
“We believe that could be the vehicle that Generation Y (children of baby boomers) hauls their kids in," said Wolkonowicz, who estimated that the mini minivan won’t be launched until 2013 at the earliest.
A redesign of the current minivan product will likely occur in 2015 or 2016, he said.
Meanwhile, Chrysler plants across North America are busy trying to implement Fiat’s world class manufacturing system — a process designed to cut costs while bolstering efficiency and quality, said Laporte.
Earlier this month, Fiat Group manufacturing boss Stefan Ketter visited both the Windsor and Brampton assembly plants for a tour and update on the facilities’ implementation of WCM, said Laporte.
“We’re all going to get a written report,” he said. “Ketter thought we could be further ahead than we are. We have more work to do, but he didn’t give any of the Chrysler plants in North America an A-plus. He had criticisms of all plants.”
In Brampton, which is in the running for an Alfa sports car, Ketter cited problems with cleanliness, said Leon Rideout, president of CAW Local 1285.
“One of the things they look at is the cleanliness of a facility. They want the assembly plants to be like hospitals,” said Rideout. “Ketter is looking at our plant as the luxury division of Chrysler, but he told us the place has to be clean and painted. He said ‘Why would I put a nice car in a place like this?”
“We explained that the place has been neglected because of cost cutting. Going back 10 to 15 years, our plant used to be the benchmark in Chrysler. After all, we assemble the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Challenger. Everything was always nice, freshly painted. But during all the cost cutting measures going back to restructuring of 2001, that’s the stuff they found easy to cut — regular maintenance.”
Nibbly
Modelled on the Toyota production system, Fiat World Class Manufacturing is a process aimed at cutting costs while boosting efficiency and quality, said Rick Laporte, president of CAW Local 444.
“The difference between the old Chrysler version and the new Fiat system is the intensity in which Fiat is launching it. Fiat has launched the system in 300 plants around the world; all have their unique culture, and some are better than others,” said Laporte.
Workers are divided into teams of 10 and are required to spot any problems early in the production process, he said. “This system is more contained right on the work station — right where the worker builds the car. It’s empowering workers and it’s a commitment by management to address problems quickly in the process. Sometimes it may mean shutting the assembly line down in order to fix that quality problem before moving forward.”
The plants that are among the first to implement WCM will likely be rewarded with new product commitments, he said.