Belvidere Assembly Plant

Belvidere Assembly Plant
Built	1964–65 [1]
Operated	July 1965
Location	Belvidere, Illinois, United States
Coordinates	42.236°N 88.871°W / 42.236; -88.871
Industry	Automotive
Products	Automobiles
Employees	1,258 (2022) [1]
Area	280 acres (1.1 km^2)
Volume	5,300,000 sq ft (490,000 m^2)
Address	3000 West Chrysler Drive
Owner(s)	Chrysler (1964–1998) DaimlerChrysler (1998–2007) Chrysler (2007–2014) Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (2014–2021) Stellantis (2021–present)

The Belvidere Assembly Plant (BVAP) is an idled automobile production facility owned and operated by Stellantis North America. The factory opened in 1965 in Belvidere, Illinois, United States, and last assembled the Jeep Cherokee.

History

The factory was built in 1964 and 1965 in the south part of Belvidere, Illinois, adjacent to U.S. Route 20. The first production line vehicle was made on July 7, 1965, assembling the new Chrysler C platform vehicles.^[2]

Less than 2 years after it opened, the plant was impacted by the 1967 Belvidere tornado, which passed nearby. While the plant was not directly hit, 300 new cars and 100 employee cars were destroyed.^[3]

The Belvidere Assembly Plant is adjacent to the Chrysler-operated Belvidere Satellite Stamping Plant. The stamping plant produces sheet metal parts for the production line.^[4] The factory has 5,300,000 square feet (490,000 m²) of floor space over 280 acres (1.1 km²) of land, and had produced 5.9 million vehicles by the end of the 1993 model year.^[5]

In 2006, the factory became the first Chrysler plant to use a body shop consisting entirely of robotics. The 780 robots in the body shop could make necessary tool changes automatically, within a 47-second cycle time. The factory is capable of building three models of vehicles as well as test-building a fourth vehicle.^[6]

The Simulation (SIM) Room comprises 38,000 square feet (3,500 m²) of the factory and is used to create a miniature production process and to test the layout of job stations, and creating standard work instructions. A two-foot grid is painted on the floor to measure dimensions and employee walk-time during simulated production and efficiency modeling.^[7]

In October 2010, it was announced that $600 million were to be invested into the Belvidere Assembly Plant in preparation for 2012 model year vehicles to be built there.^[8] The Dodge Dart (PF) was announced in December 2011 to be built at the plant.

On December 9, 2022, Stellantis announced that Belvidere Assembly would be placed into an "indefinite closure" effective February 28, 2023.^[9][10] The Belvidere site was a point of contention in 2023 United Auto Workers strike, with the United Auto Workers and Stellantis negotiating a future use for the site.^[11] The resulting contract, announced on October 28, 2023, includes the reopening of the plant in early 2025,^[12] reportedly to assemble a new mid-size Ram pickup truck.^[13] A planned expansion would also add an electric vehicle battery plant, creating 1,100 new jobs at the facility.^[14]

On November 9, 2023, President Joe Biden visited Belvidere and held a speech with local UAW leaders on the reopening of the plant.^[15]

In August 2024, Stellantis has said that it was delaying investments in the plant.^[16]

Labor

In 1985, there were around 4,000 employees working at the plant.^[17] At the start of the Neon car production, there were 3,250 hourly and 250 salaried employees working as of 10 November 1993.^[5]

2,650 employees were working at the factory at the start of 2007 model year Jeep Compass production,^[6] up from 1,700 in 2005 when one shift of employees was in place.^[7] However, the third shift, which was first instituted in 2006, was discontinued in 2008.^[18] The plant was idled during the Chrysler bankruptcy filing and became a one-shift operation from July 2009.^[19] A "temporary" second shift was added by October 2009.^[20] In May 2019, Chrysler laid off 1,403 employees after the "C" shift was eliminated.^[21]

Production of vehicles dropped from 263,521 in 2008 to 84,609 in 2009.^[22]

The workforce is represented by the United Auto Workers, Local 1268 and 1761. There have been two UAW-ordered strikes in the plant's history. In 1973, there was a nine-day strike over the right to turn down overtime, pension funding, and health and safety measures. In 1981, there was a nine-day strike to receive pay parity with Ford and GM workers. Chrysler proposed eliminating several job classifications so workers could be required to perform more than one task.^[17]

In 2009, the future of the plant was uncertain.^[23] Haig Stoddard, a Global Insight analyst, cited the plant as one of three plants that had been considered in a plan to close one plant.^[24]

Awards

In 2005, the factory was the recipient of Plant Engineering's Top Plant Award for efficient turnover in the changeover from Neon production to Caliber production.^[25]

The Chrysler Group has been awarded the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine's (ACOEM) Corporate Health Achievement Award after a tour of the plant.^[7]

The plant received a Green Cross for Safety award from the National Safety Council for 2004.^[7]

The J.D. Power Award for Manufacturing Quality (Bronze rating) was given to the plant in 2020.^[26]

Vehicles produced

Future

According to the 2023 UAW contract with Stellantis, a mid-size Ram pickup has been planned for production at this assembly plant in 2027.

Past

Some of the past models made at the plant included:

• Dodge Polara/Plymouth Fury/Chrysler Town & Country (station wagon)^[2]
• Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon (1978–1987)
• Dodge Charger (L-body) (1982–1987)
• Chrysler New Yorker (1988–1993)
• Dodge Dynasty (1988–1993)
• Chrysler Imperial (1990–1993)
• Chrysler New Yorker Fifth Avenue (1990–1993)
• Plymouth Neon (1994–2001)
• Dodge Neon (1994–2005)
• Dodge Caliber (2007–2012)
• Dodge Dart (1965–1968; 2013–2016)
• Jeep Compass (2007–2016)
• Jeep Patriot (2007–2016)
• Jeep Cherokee (2017–2023)^[27]

References

1. Belvidere Assembly Plant and Belvidere Satellite Stamping Plant on Stellantis
2. "Belvidere Assembly & Stamping Plant". American Auto Worker. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
3. "One of the worst tornado outbreaks for northern IL with three F4s devastates Belvidere, Lake Zurich, & Oak Lawn, IL". National Weather Service Chicago, Illinois.
4. "Chrysler Group Plant Fact Sheet". Plant Union Data. Archived from the original on 24 August 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
5. "Chrysler factories, offices, and testing grounds, 1925-2015". Allpar. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
6. "Gov. Blagojevich Celebrates Launch of the Dodge Caliber at the Chrysler Group's Newly Retooled Belvidere Assembly Plant" (Press release). State of Illinois. 1 February 2006. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
7. Smith, Jack, Building cars, building teams (page 10), Plant Engineering, 1 December 2005. Retrieved 1 February 2009.^{[dead link‍]}
8. "Chrysler Group LLC Announces $600 million Investment in its Belvidere (Ill.) Assembly Plant" (Press release). Chrysler Group. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
9. Boudette, Neal E.; Chiarito, Robert (23 December 2022). "Jeep Plant Shutdown Imperils Illinois Town and 1,350 Workers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
10. "History and Facts about Belvidere, IL". Ci.belvidere.il.us. Archived from the original on 11 February 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
11. Wayland, Michael (18 September 2023). "Stellantis could close 18 facilities under UAW deal — here are the full details of its latest offer". CNBC. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
12. Ferretti, Anthony (28 October 2023). "AP: Belvidere Stellantis Plant to reopen with new model following UAW agreement". www.wifr.com. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
13. "Stellantis-UAW agreement brings new midsize truck to Illinois". Autoblog. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
14. Tracy, David (29 October 2023). "'We Have Saved Belvidere' Assembly Plant: Here Are The Pay Increases And Jobs Saved By The UAW's Record Deal With Stellantis". The Autopian. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
15. Friedman, Lisa; Boudette, Neal E. (9 November 2023). "Biden Bolsters Union Support in Illinois". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
16. "Statement in Response to UAW Allegations" (Press release). 20 August 2024.
17. Belvidere workers not part of short-lived UAW strike^{[permanent dead link‍]}, Associated Press / Businessrockford, 11 October 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2009.^{[dead link‍]}
18. "Chrysler cuts 'will be a big letdown'". Rockford Register Star. 3 January 2008. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
19. "Belvidere Chrysler plant staying open, but cutting jobs". WREX - Channel 13. 27 May 2009. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
20. Barr, Alice (4 September 2009). "Second Shift Returning to Belvidere Chrysler". WIFR - Channel 23. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
21. "More layoffs coming at Belvidere Chrysler after 'C' shift eliminated (Ill.) Assembly Plant" (Press release). Wifir. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
22. Gary, Alex (12 February 2010). "Belvidere-built Chrysler products need global buying spree". Rockford Register Star. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
23. Merrick, Amy; Thurow, Roger (7 February 2009). "Mayor of Illinois City Hopes Against Hope for U.S. Funds". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
24. Terlep, Sharon; Linebaugh, Kate; Bennett, Jeff (7 February 2009). "More Car Plants at Risk". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
25. Smith, Jack. "Building cars, building teams". Plant Engineering, 1 December 2005. Retrieved 1 February 2009. ^{[dead link‍]}
26. "FCA's Toluca and Belvidere assembly plants earn J.D. Power Awards". www.thefabricator.com. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
27. Mateja, Jim (9 April 2006). "It's official: Patriot coming to Belvidere". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 6 April 2015.

External links

• Official website