STUTTGART, Germany—Porsche’s assembly plant here is a perfectly lit, technologically advanced, human-intensive temple to Teutonic efficiency and monomania.
DEARBORN, MI—Two things are missing in the body shop of the revamped Ford Rouge Center, which includes the Dearborn Truck assembly plant making the 2015 F-150 out of aluminum: sparks and noise.
STE-THERESE, QC—Some 900 employees at PACCAR’s truck assembly plant here have rejected the company’s final contract negotiation offer. After two months of negotiations, the contract was rejected by 76 percent of employees only hours after management decided to lock out its employees.
DELTA TOWNSHIP, MI—Magna International Inc. has opened a new 290,000-square-foot auto parts assembly plant here. The facility will employ approximately 340 people at full production.
NEW YORK CITY—Alcoa Inc. is researching how they can best incorporate 3D printing technology into its business as the third largest producer of aluminum in the world. Alcoa’s chief technology officer, Ray Kilmer, says that the aluminum maker is attempting to use 3D printing to produce jet engine parts, among other things.
ROANOAKE, VA—Automotive supplier Dynax America Corp. will invest more than $32.6 million to expand its assembly plant here, creating 75 new jobs over three years. The company manufactures automatic transmission components, friction disks, mating plates and assemblies.
DETROIT—General Motors is planning to invest $200 million at two of its plants in Michigan to prepare for its future vehicle program. The automaker will allocate $160 million to its Orion assembly plant for tooling and equipment and $40 million to its Pontiac Metal Center for new dies.
CHATTANOOGA, TN—Construction of Volkswagen’s planned $900 million expansion of its assembly plant here is expected to begin in earnest soon. The company plans to enlarge the body shop, technical center and assembly finish area.
SPARTANBURG, SC—BMW is running a pilot project at its assembly plant here to determine whether the Google Glass wearable computer could improve workflow in quality assurance.