Honda Greensburg plant gets survey's highest award

Honda Greensburg was named one of the world's best car assembly plants

.J.D. Power and Associates, a research firm that hands out an annual prize likened to the Academy Awards of vehicle manufacturing, on Thursday singled out the southeast Indiana factory.

Honda Greensburg received the researcher's highest rating, the Platinum Plant Quality award.The Greensburg plant, which assembles the Civic car, scored 24 problems per 100 vehicles, compared with an industry average of 107 problems per 100 vehicles.

"It's a real feather in the cap for a plant that is that new," said Ed Miller, American Honda Motor Co. senior manager for corporate affairs.

Honda opened the plant in 2008 after selecting 900 workers from about 30,000 job applications. Honda is now recruiting a second shift of about 1,000 workers to start late this year.

Honda plants differ from Toyota's and General Motors' by relying slightly less on automation and more on hands-on effort on the assembly line.

To obtain the results, J.D. Power surveyed 73,000 cars and trucks of all makes in the hands of buyers. The survey covers initial problems detected within 90 days of purchase of model year 2011vehicles.

Greensburg was tied for the Platinum award by Toyota's Lexus RX assembly line at Cambridge, Ontario, and Toyota Kyushu 2 in Japan, which produces the Lexus ES, IS and RX. Each plant scored 24 defects per 100 vehicles."

These results are an important demonstration of our focus on the customer and the tireless efforts put forth by Honda associates throughout our organization -- in R&D, in manufacturing and in sales -- toreflect the voice of our customers and to exceed their high expectations of Honda and Acura," Tetsuo Iwamura, chief executive of American Honda Motor Co., said in a statement.

Source;
http://www.indystar.com/article/20110624/BUSINESS/106240345/Honda-Greensburg-plant-gets-survey-s-highest-award

The engines that could: Honda marks 10 years manufacturing in Lincoln

A decade ago, workers began construction of a facility that would eventually generate thousands of jobs for the area, and today officials will celebrate that milestone.

Honda Manufacturing of Alabama in Lincoln will mark the 10-year anniversary of the groundbreaking at 11 a.m. at the plant. Gov. Bob Riley and U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, as well as other state and local economic development officials, are scheduled to attend the event.

Part of the celebration — which will not be open to the public — will include the opening of a time capsule that several Lincoln High School students buried at the site 10 years ago.

“We are fortunate that some of the students are still in the area and will attend,” said Ted Pratt, spokesman for Honda. “They will share their thoughts on how things have changed in the last 10 years.”

The Honda plant itself, which employs more than 4,000 people, has changed much in the past decade.

When operations began at the plant on Nov. 14, 2001, the facility was about 1.7 million square feet and produced 2002-model Odyssey minivans. However, by 2002, Honda officials announced the plant would increase in size.

“The popularity of the Odyssey was the driving force behind the growth,” Pratt said.

The plant is now 3.5 million square feet in size.

In 2005, the size of the facility’s engine plant was increased to 300,000 square feet to keep up with demand. Workers in the engine plant cast certain parts for vehicle engines.

Pilot SUVs were added to the production lines as well as a model change for the Odyssey in 2004. And, with the economic recession’s impact on the vehicle industry, in 2009 the plant began producing Accord V-6 sedans and Ridgeline pickups.

“Throughout the past 10 years, we’ve been in a growth mode,” Pratt said. “Now we are concentrating on stability of construction and constant improvement to quality.”

Source;
http://annistonstar.com/view/full_story/7385839/article-The-engines-that-could--Honda-marks-10-years-manufacturing-in-Lincoln?instance=1st_left