Daimler Chrysler Begins Construction of Transmission Plant Expansion

    HOUSTON--Oct. 1, 2001--The following is an advisory by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources Inc.; Houston, Texas). Daimler Chrysler Corporation (Auburn Hills, Mich.) has started construction on a $455 million project at their Indiana Transmission Plant (ITP) located in Kokomo, Indiana. The project will allow for production of the "W5A580," a Mercedes-Benz developed transmission. The five-speed, automatic, rear-wheel drive transmission, currently built in the company's Hedelfingen, Germany plant just outside Stuttgart, is used in the current Mercedes-Benz S, E, C and M-Class vehicles. The plant is expected to produce 400,000 "W5A580" transmissions, which will be used in future Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep(R) products.
    Walbridge Aldinger (Detroit, Mich.) was awarded a design-build contract and started construction on the 600,000 square foot building in February 2001. Equipment should be in place by summer 2002 and manufacturing of the transmissions is slated to begin in 2003.
    The ITP began production in 1998 and has approximately 1,700 employees. The W5A580 transmission debuted in 1995 and is known to be one of the smoothest, most fuel-efficient and cost-effective transmissions in the industry.