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Daimler in $435M expansion
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May 25, 1999: 3:43 p.m. ET
Carmaker revamping St. Louis-North; Ford invests $480M in London plant
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - DaimlerChrysler is applying some spit and polish -- and a wad of cash -- to its St. Louis-North Assembly plant, which produces the Dodge Ram Quad Cab pickup.
The automaker said Tuesday it will invest a total of $435 million to provide the plant with a new body shop and a color spray booth in the paint shop.
The size of the new body shop will represent an expansion of 311,000 square feet to allow for improvements in flexibility, productivity and quality in the manufacturing process, the company said.
"The $435 million investment clearly represents DaimlerChrysler's commitment not only to our workforce, but also the entire St. Louis regional community," said Gary L. Henson, senior vice president of manufacturing. "The new technologies, process improvements and infrastructure upgrades are also evidence of our continuing effort to improve the quality and competitiveness of the Dodge Ram Quad Cab at St. Louis-North Assembly."
The plant, which was built in 1966 and produced Chrysler minivans between 1987 and 1995, underwent a $350 million conversion process four years ago to Dodge Ram pickup truck production.
The plant employs approximately 3,000 and produces 592 vehicles per day.
Shares of DaimlerChrysler (DCX) were trading down 1-3/16 at 89-11/16 by late afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange.
Ford invests $480M in British plant
In other automaker news, Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it will invest 300 million pounds ($480 million) in a regeneration project at its Dagenham plant in east London.
The investment forms part of a 468 million pound, seven-year partnership program with the local government to rejuvenate the wider Thames Gateway area alongside the river to the east of the capital.
The project aims to create 2,000 jobs and to reverse the long-running decline in the area. Ford said it will build an industrial park, which it hopes will lure automotive suppliers, such as its Visteon parts unit.
"This new investment, better working practices and infrastructure improvements will make the Ford plant at Dagenham a world-class facility," Ian McAllister, chairman and managing director of Ford's U.K. arm, said.
Ford said it plans to increase the production capacity to 300,000 units per year from 272,000 as it refurbishes Dagenham, introducing a new model at the plant, which produces Fiestas.
Ford, which currently employ 8,300 at the plant, said its efforts to make Dagenham the most modern and productive plant in Europe might mean some changes to the workforce, but didn't offer specifics.
Shares in Ford (F) were up 1-5/16 at 57-7/16 in New York trading Tuesday afternoon. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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