Marchionne and Chrysler Canada President and CEO Reid Bigland, along with Ontario Minister of Economic Development and Trade Sandra Pupatello, Ontario Minister of Finance Dwight Duncan, Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis, CAW President Ken Lewenza and other local officials, recognized the importance of the plant, the workforce and the new minivans to the future success of the Company during a ceremony at the plant.

"The new 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country remain key parts of our revival plan," Marchionne told more than 1,200 employees in the audience. "Our collective future is dependent on the success of this plant and these vehicles. We’re in this battle together.  We must continue to put our trust in each other and make a true, full-faith effort to work together."

Marchionne also reminded employees that it was with the assistance of the federal government of Canada and the Province of Ontario that Chrysler has been given an opportunity to create a future.

"Chrysler Group owes a deep debt of gratitude to taxpayers in Canada and the U.S. for the loans that enabled a reenergized, restructured company to emerge in June 2009," said Marchionne. "We recognize we have a moral responsibility to fulfil our promises, justify these investments and pay back every penny that was loaned to us."

In preparation for the launch of the new 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country, the Company has invested more than $1.4 billion USD since 2008 for assembly, stamping, material handling and tooling as well as improvements to the Windsor paint shop. Windsor is currently the only Chrysler Group assembly plant that operates on three shifts with more than 4,400 employees.

"This is a proud day for Chrysler Group and the CAW as it launches two new minivans, thereby preserving good manufacturing jobs in Canada," said Ken Lewenza, President, CAW. "Our commitment and effort over more than 25 years have played an important role in the success of the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country."

Since June 2009, Chrysler Group has made significant progress toward building a successful enterprise, including, among many other things, announcing an investment of US$27.2 million in its Etobicoke casting plant (Toronto) to produce front and rear crossmembers for future Chrysler vehicles starting in the third quarter 2011.

World Class Manufacturing (WCM) Achieves Results in Windsor
In preparation for the launch of the new 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country, employees at WAP began transforming the facility as part of WCM, an extensive and thorough process to restore all facilities to their original and maximum functionality.

The rollout of WCM began with putting more than 4,300 employees through over 30,000 hours of training focused on the principles of WCM and how to identify and attack waste and losses on the line. As a result, employees have become more engaged with their work and submitted more than 30,000 suggestions on how to improve the processes at the plant. In fact, more than 3,000 employees at WAP have been involved in suggestions and continuous improvement activities in 2010.

Additionally, WCM has helped eliminate unsafe conditions, with a 52 percent reduction in injury frequencies.

Another area of significant improvement has been the area of autonomous maintenance. Workers take responsibility for cleaning and inspection of equipment in order to eliminate breakdowns. In the body shop, this has resulted in running over one year without a breakdown due to lack of basic conditions.

In the paint shop, employees restored the 12-year-old robotic sealer application equipment to its original condition. The team then benchmarked an idea from Fiat to incorporate clear plastic coverings to catch small sealer drips to prevent the critical parts of the equipment from getting dirty and thereby, avoiding future breakdowns.  

In total, the implementation of WCM resulted in plant savings of more than $46 million CDN in 2010.

About the Windsor Assembly Plant
The Windsor Assembly Plant was built in 1928. In 1939, a special Chrysler royal convertible sedan was built for the 1939 Royal Tour and thousands were shipped overseas. From 1925-1965, vehicles produced at the plant included Plymouth two- and four -door sedans, Dodge hardtops, DeSoto convertibles, Chrysler station wagons and club coupes. Production of the Plymouth Valiant began in 1966 and concluded in 1975. Production of the Chrysler Cordoba and Dodge Charger SE began in 1981. Production of minivans began in 1983. The 2005 Chrysler and Dodge minivans with Stow ’n Go® seating and storage system launched production in January 2004, with Swivel ’n Go coming on board in 2007. Chrysler Group celebrated the 12 millionth minivan sold in 2007. Production of the Volkswagen Routan began in August 2008. Chrysler Group recognized 25 years of minivan leadership in 2008. The 13 millionth minivan was sold in August 2010. The plant is currently the only plant to operate on three shifts with more than 4,400 employees.

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