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n late January 2005, DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group announced it would invest US$419 million and add 1,000 jobs to the current payroll of 2,100 at its Belvidere, Ill., plant near Rockford, employing a second shift and hinting at a third. That same plant laid off 1,000 workers in 2000. But Illinois will count it as a win and move forward, as the plant gets ready to produce not only the replacement for its longtime product, the Dodge Neon, but three other yet-to-be-determined vehicles.
      A new union agreement was crucial to the investment decision, as it allowed DaimlerChrysler (DCX) the job definition and team flexibility that gives flexible manufacturing its name. And $36 million in "Opportunity Returns" support from the state didn't hurt. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the decision would help "attract investment and catalyze growth in the area," and it didn't take long for that projection to ring true.
      One week later, it was revealed that a $200-million minority contract awarded by Chrysler Group to TDS/US of Brownstown, Mich., would result in the adjacent construction of a 500-job, 500,000-sq.-ft. (46,450-sq.-m.) parts sequencing center, another integral part of the flexible manufacturing model.
      "The combined TDS/US and DaimlerChrysler operations at Belvidere embody new practices that are key to closing the gap with benchmark assembly plants," said Peter Rosenfeld, executive vice president-procurement & supply for Chrysler Group. "This supply chain management contract will allow us to meet the logistics needs of one of our soon-to-be most flexible plants while aggressively managing our material costs."
      The contract is expected to shave 12 percent off the cost of the current process. The Tier 1 company is a joint venture partner of TDS Automotive, based in London, Ontario, which has 4,500 employees working at locations in 10 countries across North America, South America, Europe and Asia.
      Asked about different siting options for such sequencing centers, DCX spokesman Ed Saenz says each plant's unique situation dictates the answer.
      "We have situations that exist already where sequencing centers are tens of miles away," he says. "This one is adjacent, and the parts will come in on a conveyor. At Toledo South, the sequencing is done within the body of the plant. At Jefferson North [in Detroit], where we make the Grand Cherokee, we're sort of landlocked. But at Belvidere we had the land right next to it."
      In fact the company owns 280 acres (113 hectares) at the overall site, where the current plant already occupies 3.3 million sq. ft. (306,570 sq. m.).