DETROIT—Fiat Chrysler has pledged to spend $1 billion to overhaul its assembly plants in Michigan and Ohio to build the upcoming Jeep Wagoneer, Grand Wagoneer, and Wrangler pickup. The move will add 2,000 jobs to the automaker’s U.S. workforce and will enable the company to move Ram heavy-duty pickup truck production from Mexico to the U.S.
It goes without saying that every manufacturer wants to ensure they are assembling a quality product. Standards and specifications from various organizations provide a guideline from which manufacturers can measure different aspects of quality, while also providing the customer with the reassurance that they are purchasing a trustworthy, long-lasting product.
Mississippi has a robust manufacturing sector that includes world-class companies such as Airbus Helicopters, GE Aviation, Ingalls Shipbuilding, Nissan, Northrop Grumman, Toyota and Viking Range. It’s also home to a world-class organization at the University of Mississippi.
Comparative claims can be positive or negative, subjective or objective. But, in every instance, their main purpose is illustrative. A common example is when someone claims that a person or process is “as slow as molasses” (which, by the way, has a viscosity of only 5,000 to 10,000 centipoise [cps]).
The need to reduce vehicle weight has spawned myriad new technologies for assembling aluminum, high-strength steel and other materials. These new technologies include self-piercing rivets, flow-drilling screws and friction-stir spot welding.
Seating is something that most people never think about when they get behind the wheel. But, it plays an important role in overall customer satisfaction.
BUFFALO, NY—Panasonic Corp. expects to invest more than $260 million in an assembly plant here to make photovoltaic cells and modules for Tesla Motors Inc.
SPARTANBURG, SC—Automotive supplier Magna International will build a new, $29 million, 230,000-square-foot assembly plant here to make seats for BMW. Scheduled to open in June 2017, the facility is expected to employ 480 people in the next four years.
EVANSVILLE, IN—Systems integrator Preh IMA Automation (PIA) Evansville Inc. is building a semiautomatic assembly line for a manufacturer of automotive electronics. The assembly line, which will be delivered in early 2017, assembles, populates and tests automotive fuse boxes.