Chrysler Group Announces Partners for Supplier Co-Located Manufacturing Project in Toledo, Ohio

Chrysler Group Announces Partners for Supplier Co-Located
Manufacturing Project in Toledo, Ohio 


TOLEDO, Ohio, Aug. 3  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Chrysler Group and several of
its suppliers today announced plans for an innovative manufacturing project in
the City of Toledo.  The suppliers, The Kuka Group, Durr Industries and Hyundai
Mobis, will be partners in the development, construction and daily operations
at Chrysler Group's Toledo manufacturing complex.

"The Toledo supplier co-location project is clearly a compelling business
opportunity for our suppliers and for the company," said Peter Rosenfeld,
Chrysler Group Executive Vice President - Procurement and Supply. "Automakers
and suppliers are under pressure to compete on a global level.  By joining
together to create an innovative co-located manufacturing project of this kind
in North America, we all will benefit from the opportunity to learn and
strengthen our partnership."

The Kuka Group is one of the world's leading providers of engineering services
and manufacturers of flexible production systems for the automotive industry. 
Kuka will construct and operate a new 250,000-square-foot facility on the
Toledo site that will weld and assemble vehicle bodies.  Kuka has U.S.
operations based in Sterling Heights, Michigan, and headquarters in Karlsruhe,
Germany.  Founded in 1898, Kuka's years of knowledge in the areas of systems
technology and robotic cells will be applied to the new facility.

Durr Industries is a global leader in the design, manufacture and installation
of paint systems technology for automobile manufacturers.  The company will be
responsible for the construction and operation of a new 400,000-square-foot
building, which will paint the Kuka-built vehicle body. Durr's North American
headquarters in Plymouth, Michigan has been serving the North American auto
industry since 1974.  It also has headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.

Hyundai Mobis is a world-class automotive modules supplier, specializing in the
design, development, manufacturing and assembling of chassis modules. Mobis
will construct a new 200,000-square-foot chassis building, where a rolling
chassis module will be manufactured.  A rolling chassis includes major
powertrain and drivetrain components, as well as wheels and tires.

Mobis currently operates a sales and engineering facility in Farmington Hills,
Michigan, and will begin a manufacturing operation in Alabama next year.  The
company is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

The painted vehicle body and the chassis module will be sent on conveyor lines
directly into Chrysler Group's final assembly building, where all vehicle
components will be married together to create the finished vehicle.

From start to finish, Chrysler Group will work rigorously with all of its
supplier partners to maintain the highest levels of quality in each area of the
assembly process, including a series of final validation tests for each vehicle
as it comes off the line.

Construction of the new facilities is tentatively scheduled to begin fall 2004,
with vehicle production slated for 2006. 

DATASOURCE: Chrysler Group



CONTACT:  Edward Saenz, [phone], or Mary Beth Halprin,

[phone], both of Chrysler Group



Web site:  http://www.media.daimlerchrysler.com/ 

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