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, +1-248-512-2674, or Mary Beth Halprin, +1-248-512-2658, both of Chrysler Group Web site: http://www.media.daimlerchrysler.com/

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