Fire-damaged auto parts plant back in operation (AP)
Monday, March 7, 2011 8:01 PM By dwi
DETROIT – Part of a Michigan machine parts works that was damaged by blast terminal week started producing again over the weekend, easing a parts insufficiency that had forced digit machine companies to closed downbound whatever gathering lines.
The blast Wednesday at a Magna International Inc. being caused General Motors Co. to closed downbound the river works that makes the Chevrolet Cruze compact. Mazda Motor Co. halted an gathering line in Flat Rock, Mich., that makes the Mazda 6 midsize sedan. Thousands of workers were temporarily idled.
The Magna being also makes parts for Chrysler Group LLC, author Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. vehicles
GM said weekday that the Cruze being in Lordstown, Ohio, would be restarted on Tuesday, and workers at an adjoining parts stamping being would be backwards weekday night. The Mazda 6 gathering line, in a being jointly operated with Ford, will remain closed downbound for the rest of this week, a spokesman said.
About half of the Magna plant's creation restarted during the weekend, Magna spokeswoman histrion Fuerst said Monday. Company officials had been employed since the brightness to uphold production, and were able to intend conception of the being in Howell Township, Mich., backwards in operation, she said. Some machinery also was touched to a shuttered Magna works in nearby Brighton, Mich., and it is producing parts there temporarily, she said.
"We hit begun to cater whatever of our customers on a limited basis," Fuerst said.
The being makes ceilings, consoles and other plastic interior parts for the automakers. Nissan, author and Chrysler said their creation wasn't affected.
Fuerst said whatever of the molds utilised to attain the parts were damaged, but the consort worked with customers over the weekend to repair the equipment at the factory, which is most 45 miles north of Detroit.
Only most 25 percent of the works expanse was damaged in the fire, but it destroyed digit super holes in the roof of the antiquity and caused structural damage. Fuerst said whatever of that alteration had been fixed. Firefighters, who poured 1.2 meg gallons of liquid on the being to place out the blaze, hit said its drive was accidental, play in machinery into which sparkle was injected to attain whatever of the parts.
GM closed its Lordstown, Ohio, gathering being on Friday and Monday, and at small six other GM factories were strained by the parts shortage. Officials were ease assessing the effect at hour Monday.
The Mazda gathering line also was closed downbound play Thursday.
"Lost creation will be made up with a compounding of period and additional shifts," spokesman Jeremy Barnes said. Mazda expects to resume creation on March 14.
The blast showed just how fragile the machine consort parts cater chain is. For the time threesome decades, companies hit cut costs and embellish more economical by feat to a just-in-time parts conveying grouping so they crapper avoid stipendiary for Brobdingnagian stockpiles of parts. To avoid buying expensive machinery, whatever parts companies attain a particular conception at exclusive digit site with no backup. As a result, plants hit few parts in storage, and they are so interdependent on every link in the chain that the grouping fails if creation is broken at a single factory.
Source
0 comments:
Post a Comment