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Recycling of Water Will Protect Environment, Resources at DaimlerChrysler

30 March 2000

Complete Recycling of Water Will Protect Environment, Resources at DaimlerChrysler Plant in Mexico

    *  Third DaimlerChrysler facility in Mexico to totally recycle water
    *  Water Recycling System conserves scarce water supplies


    AUBURN HILLS, Mich. and STUTTGART, Germany, March 29 DaimlerChrysler's manufacturing facility in Toluca, Mexico, home of the new
Chrysler PT Cruiser, will achieve another milestone later this year with the
opening of a state-of-the-art wastewater recycling facility.
    The recycling facility, the most advanced of its kind in the Western
Hemisphere, will conserve precious water resources and reduce the potential
for pollution by totally recycling all of the water used in the plant.  Toluca
will become the third DaimlerChrysler facility to achieve total water
recycling: the first two are the Saltillo Engine Plant and Saltillo Truck
Plant that began Total Water Recycle Systems in 1994 and 1995, respectively.
    When the new system is launched later in 2000, not one drop of water will
be released from the Toluca plant, dramatically reducing the potential for
pollution to reach the nearby Lerma River system, the most extensive in
Mexico.
    In addition, the total reuse of water inside the plant means the facility
draws less water from the Toluca region's dwindling aquifer.
    Toluca's underground aquifer, which supplies water to residents and
industry, is dropping at a rate of more than six feet per year.  Total
recycling ensures that production at the plant will not be limited by the lack
of water in the future.
    "With this facility, we are making sure that our plant will have minimal
impact on the environment and on the water supply, not just in Toluca but
across the region," said  Neil McKay, DaimlerChrysler senior manager of
Wastewater Planning and Compliance.  "At the same time we are meeting our
environmental responsibilities, we are also ensuring that our plant will
continue to operate without being constrained by the limited water supply in
the region."
    The Toluca facility employs 7,000 workers and includes four separate
engine, transmission, stamping and assembly plants.
    As part of the total recycling of water, the $17 million wastewater
facility at Toluca will be able to treat more than 2,200,000 liters
(approximately 610,000 gallons) of water each day, enough to fill 10 medium-
size baseball stadiums.  The treatment process is complicated by the fact that
the water supply is high in silica, which clogs water pipes and is hard on
wastewater treatment equipment.
    Wastewater from DaimlerChrysler's manufacturing plants is treated by two
separate systems:
    *  The Sanitary Water System biologically treats wastewater from
       restrooms, showers, cafeterias, dishwashers and other domestic areas of
       the plants.
    *  The Manufacturing Process Water System chemically treats wastewater
       mixed with heavy metals and paints from the assembly plant.  It also
       treats wastewater fixed with emulsified and free-floating oils from the
       engine, transmission and stamping plants.

    An extensive computer system monitors the wastewater treatment plant and
the remote lift stations at the Toluca complex.  Workers skilled in
hydraulics, mechanics, electronics, computer software, biology, microbiology
and chemistry operate the treatment plant 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to
insure proper operating procedures and environmental protection.
    As a result, DaimlerChrysler's water quality standards in Toluca are
stricter than those set by the State of Mexico and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.