Albert Kahn Ass. Awarded Contracts for Hummer H2 Assembly Plant
29 February 2000
Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. Awarded Contracts for Hummer H2 Assembly Plant
DETROIT, Feb. 29 -- Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. (AKA), a
105-year-old professional services firm headquartered in Detroit, has been
selected by AM General Corporation (AMG) to serve as both program manager and
architect/engineer for its Hummer H2 assembly operation in Mishawaka, Indiana.
To be located on a 96-acre site in Mishawaka, near South Bend in northern
Indiana, the new 630,000-square-foot facility will deliver a new "world class"
sport utility vehicle (SUV) to market in calendar year 2002 -- the Hummer H2.
"We chose Albert Kahn Associates because of its excellent reputation and
solid record of successful performance," said Jim Armour, President and CEO of
AM General Corporation. "AKA has the leadership that can help make our
project happen within our aggressive time frame," Armour added.
The H2 plant operations will be located just east of the existing plant,
and will be part of the complex that produces both the Humvee military vehicle
and the commercial version, now named the Hummer H1. A key factor in
selecting this location was the quality of the existing workforce, represented
by United Auto Workers Local 5.
"We are pleased to form a strategic partnership with AM General to deliver
this project," said Chuck Robinson, Senior Vice President at AKA. "AMG has
inspired us with their vision, excitement and customer-driven commitment for
integrating this new concept vehicle with modern manufacturing processes, a
quality workforce, and a new facility," Robinson added.
In its role as program manager, AKA will provide overall management and
single-source responsibility for the new facility. This entails serving as
the owner's primary representative on the project, with responsibility for the
design, procurement, construction, integration and production commissioning of
the project. AKA is partnering with Chiyoda AES, a Detroit automotive process
engineering company, for process-related program management support.
AKA will simultaneously provide comprehensive architectural and
engineering services for the project.
The Hummer H2 project represents a joint agreement between AM General and
General Motors of North America to produce a completely new sport utility
inspired by the popular Hummer H1. AM General Corporation
(http://www.amgeneralcorp.com ), headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, is a privately
held company owned by New York City-based Renco Group, Inc. AM General has
been a leader in designing and manufacturing light and medium duty trucks for
military and government use for more than 30 years.
Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. (http://www.albertkahn.com ) has long been
recognized for its unsurpassed influence on the development of industrial
architecture and has designed more automotive facilities than any other
architectural and engineering firm in the U.S. Founded by architect Albert
Kahn in 1895, the firm quickly became the premier architect for Detroit's auto
barons in the early 1900s, and has retained that position over the past
century.
Over the decades, AKA's name has become synonymous with state-of-the-art
automotive manufacturing facilities for the Big Three and foreign transplants
across the U.S. Recent automotive projects in the U.S. include the $150
million DaimlerChrysler Indiana Transmission Plant in Kokomo, Indiana; and the
$355 million Powertrain Expansion Project at the DaimlerChrysler Technology
Center in Auburn Hills, MI. AKA also designed BMW's 1.2 million sq. ft.
assembly plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Mercedes-Benz' All-Activity
vehicle production facility in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, both award-winning
projects for the firm.
Internationally, AKA served as part of a program management team of
Brazilian and U.S. companies for Mercedes-Benz' new A-Class automotive
assembly plant in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, completed in 1999. AKA was also
architect/engineer for the project.