Sheet Metal Stamping Simulation

Chattanooga's drive to land Volkswagen had hit a pothole.

In May 2008, VW site selectors visiting the city had told local economic developers that Enterprise South industrial park was third in a three-city sweepstakes for a new $1 billion assembly plant.

Just hours later -- two years ago this week -- the decision was made to mobilize city and Hamilton County work forces and start to clear the wooded tract so VW officials could better see the property.

Tesla Motors has acquired the recently closed NUMMI factory in Fremont, California were they will be begin manufacturing their Model S sedan and the other future vehicle models. The NUMMI plant was closed in April of 2010 by Toyota who had the Corolla and Tacoma automobiles manufactured at this plant.

According to a report in the L.A. Times, city officials from Downey, California are disappointed about Tesla Motors acquiring the Northern California location. The Southern California city officials were hoping that Tesla Motors would have signed a lease agreement this Friday for a closed facility location that used to manufacturer space shuttle parts.

Maruti Suzuki India has denied reports suggesting usage of the Volkswagen manufacturing unit near Chakan. Volkswagen has a 19.9% stake in Japanese auto maker Suzuki. Citing current circumstances, Business Standard reported Maruti Suzuki India using VW’s unit near Pune to manufacture their own vehicles.

Flanked by dozens of auto workers at Ford Motor Co.’s Claycomo plant, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday urged the General Assembly to pass legislation to provide the automaker incentives to bring a new vehicle to the plant.

Nixon made his pitch for the Missouri Manufacturing Jobs Act as the legislature’s current session is set to end Friday evening.

Last year, when the U.S. Department of Energy was doling out its first batch of massive low-interest loan guarantees to car companies under the banner of the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) Program, it very blatantly left out General Motors and Chrysler — almost entirely due to their miserable financial situations.

But it seems both companies have turned things around enough to qualify for forthcoming rounds of federal stimulus funding, according to DOE senior advisor Matt Rogers. The department is even working closely with the relevant groups to make sure their applications for the money are up to snuff. Obviously, the government has a stake in seeing these companies gear up production of their greener vehicles — particularly GM’s Chevy Volt, which has been positioned as one of the most consumer-friendly options in this field.

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Auto giant Ford Motor Co. (F) plans to produce 80,000 to 90,000 units of its new Fiesta model this year at its plant in Cuautitlan, outside Mexico City, Ford de Mexico Chief Executive Eduardo Serrano said Tuesday.

The majority of the cars, which Ford launched in Europe in Asia about 18 months ago, will be exported to the U.S. and Canada, officials said at an event celebrating the end of an extensive renovation of the plant.

About 400 jobs will be added at Chrysler Group LLC's casting and transmission plants in Kokomo, Ind., as part of a $43 million investment announced today.

Of the new positions, as many as 379 will be recalls of laid-off Chrysler workers and 20 new hires will be for supervisory positions, the company said.

Two of the key administration figures that led General Motors and Chrysler through bankruptcy last year said Monday that the companies have made significant progress in turning around their operations.

Ron Bloom, senior manufacturing adviser to President Barack Obama, said the administration is pleased with the management of the two companies and is "hopeful, cautious ... not yet confident" that they'll fully recover.

An international scandal erupted in early 1993 when Volkswagen A.G. enticed Jose Ignacio Lopez de Arriortua to walk off of his job as head of General Motors worldwide purchasing.

A native of Spain, he had cut a wide swath in Detroit inspiring fear and awe among longtime GM suppliers. At GM, Lopez served at the pleasure of the Board of Directors, and while at VW he was given a four-year contract valued at $20 million. A master of “lean manufacturing,” Lopez took seven GM executives with him. This so enraged GM that it took immediate legal action. The company asked a German court to issue an order restraining VW from raiding their employees in Europe. 

Rolling off the assembly line at Ford’s plan in Cologne, Germany yesterday was the six millionths Fiesta model – a Vision Blue Sport edition intended for a German customer. Show above next to an original Fiesta, this seventh-generation model celebrates 31 years of production in Cologne, with Fiestas dating back to 1976 in Europe.

Lt. Governor Becky Skillman joined executives from General Motors, LLC today to announce the company's plans to expand its manufacturing operations here, adding 245 jobs by 2013.

GM Powertrain Bedford, one of the world's largest aluminum die casting facilities, currently manufactures NorthStar engine blocks, four-speed transmissions and fuel efficient six-speed transmissions. The automaker plans to invest $111 million to add a semi-permanent mold cylinder head casting line for small block engines.

THE relief that workers in Defiance and Ottawa are feeling at the prospect of a turnaround in local manufacturing is palpable. It should be. Not long ago, employees in both communities came to work each day apprehensive that their jobs might vanish.

But in a hopeful sign that the recession may be making way for growth and recovery, General Motors has announced a $115 million investment in its Defiance casting facility.

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The ripple effect of the Volkswagen project is illustrated by a $1.7 million expansion planned by Southern Tool Steel, Inc. (STS), a Chattanooga-owned distributor of metals and plastics. The project will double the production capacity of the operation and add 25 new jobs within the first year of completion.

STS is a metal supplier to machine shops, tool and die and manufacturing facilities including automotive parts stamping operations, and their tier-one suppliers. Customers include Hyundai, Nissan, Honda, Kia and Toyota. Gestamp, a potential customer for STS, is a tier-one supplier to Volkswagen in Chattanooga. STS can also supply additional Volkswagen suppliers with their metal needs.