Brampton Assembly
Encyclopedia
Brampton Assembly is a Chrysler
automobile
factory is located at 2000 Williams Parkway East, in Brampton, Ontario
, Canada
. Originally built by American Motors Corporation
(AMC) for US$260 million, the manufacturing plant was specially designed for building the Eagle Premier
.
(AMC) established an agreement with the governments of Ontario and Canada to build a new assembly plant. Both the national and provincial governments loaned AMC C$
100 million each to build the C$764 million facility. The agreement also included a royalty to the governments equal to 1% of the sales price of every vehicle produced at the facility.
The infrastructure builder EllisDon Construction completed the US$260 million (US$ in dollars ) plant and associated buildings. The factory was opened by AMC in 1986 as Bramalea Assembly, a state-of-the-art robotics
-based assembly facility with 2950000 square feet (274,064 m²) of floor space located on 269 acres (108.9 ha) specifically designed to produce the Eagle Premier
.
It was acquired (along with the rest of AMC) by Chrysler in August 1987. The factory was ranked tops in Chrysler's 1988 quality audit of the cars produced in each of automaker's plants.
Production of the Chrysler LH platform
cars began in June 1992 and continued with the updated LH cars in 1997. Production switched to the rear-wheel drive Chrysler LX platform
cars in January 2004.
The attached Brampton Satellite Stamping, which opened in 1991, was built for the launch of the Chrysler LH platform
.
At that time, the Brampton Assembly operated with three shifts of production. It is the city of Brampton's largest employer, with over 4,200 people working there.
On July 19, 2007 Chrysler Group announced an investment of US$
1.2 billion in the Brampton plant for upgrades to the Chrysler 300 series, Dodge Magnum, and Dodge Charger, as well as a $500 million manufacturing investment to prepare for European-market LX platform product loading.
On November 1, 2007 Chrysler LLC announced that it is ending the third shift in Brampton with the loss of 1,000 direct jobs as well as declaring that production of the Dodge Magnum in Brampton will end in early 2008.
On May 1, 2009, both the Brampton Assembly and Windsor Assembly
plants were shut down as a result of Chrysler
's bankruptcy protection filing on April 30 in the United States
, affecting about 2,700 employees at the Brampton Assembly and 4,400 at the Windsor Assembly. A Chrysler parts plant in Etobicoke, Toronto
operated until May 10, when it was closed down for 30 to 60 days, affecting 300 employees, while it went through restructuring under court-ordered creditor protection.
After the reorganization, Chrysler announced the launch of new models of the 300 and Charger to be produced in the Brampton assembly plant, beginning in 2010.
The factory began production of the redesigned 2011 Chrysler 300 in January 2011. At this time total employment was 2,871 (2,733 hourly; 138 salaried) working two shifts.
Overall Production = 4,414,995
American Motors' original "Brampton Assembly Plant" opened in 1966. It was part of American Motors Canada, Inc. and was located at northeast corner of Steeles Avenue and Kennedy Road. In its first year, it produced 33,000 cars in Canada. This assembly plant produced Rambler American
s, AMC Rebel
s, Ambassadors
, and Javelins
.
American Motors was in the best position of the U.S. automakers to take advantage of the Canada–United States Automotive Products Agreement. The Ambassador and Javelin production was moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin
while assembly of Ramblers and Rebels increased. By 1969, the year of the introduction of the Hornet, the output of AMC's Brampton operation was destined to the eastern half of the continent while production at Kenosha supplied the western regions.
The original Brampton plant later also produced Gremlins
, Concords
and Eagles
, as well as Jeep CJ
and Wrangler
vehicles.
In 1987, with the Chrysler buy-out, the AMC division and its plants (Brampton and Bramalea) were absorbed into Chrysler, becoming part of Chrysler Canada Limited. When the Jeep Wrangler production was moved to Toledo in 1992, the new Bramalea plant was renamed to Brampton Assembly. The original AMC plant was closed in 1992 and sold to Wal-Mart
for use as their Canadian warehouse.
The remains of the plant were torn down in 2005, and the land is currently under redevelopment. Among the buildings on the site is a Lowe's
home improvement store, one of the first to be built in Canada.
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
factory is located at 2000 Williams Parkway East, in Brampton, Ontario
Brampton, Ontario
Brampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada and the seat of Peel Region. As of the 2006 census, Brampton's population stood at 433,806, making it the 11th largest city in Canada. It is also one of Canada's fastest growing municipalities, with an average...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Originally built by American Motors Corporation
American Motors
American Motors Corporation was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.George W...
(AMC) for US$260 million, the manufacturing plant was specially designed for building the Eagle Premier
Eagle Premier
The Eagle Premier was a full-size automobile developed by the American Motors Corporation and Renault partnership, inherited by Chrysler Corporation when it acquired AMC in 1987, and marketed from 1987 through 1992...
.
History
In June 1984, American Motors CorporationAmerican Motors
American Motors Corporation was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.George W...
(AMC) established an agreement with the governments of Ontario and Canada to build a new assembly plant. Both the national and provincial governments loaned AMC C$
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
100 million each to build the C$764 million facility. The agreement also included a royalty to the governments equal to 1% of the sales price of every vehicle produced at the facility.
The infrastructure builder EllisDon Construction completed the US$260 million (US$ in dollars ) plant and associated buildings. The factory was opened by AMC in 1986 as Bramalea Assembly, a state-of-the-art robotics
Industrial robot
An industrial robot is defined by ISO as an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes...
-based assembly facility with 2950000 square feet (274,064 m²) of floor space located on 269 acres (108.9 ha) specifically designed to produce the Eagle Premier
Eagle Premier
The Eagle Premier was a full-size automobile developed by the American Motors Corporation and Renault partnership, inherited by Chrysler Corporation when it acquired AMC in 1987, and marketed from 1987 through 1992...
.
It was acquired (along with the rest of AMC) by Chrysler in August 1987. The factory was ranked tops in Chrysler's 1988 quality audit of the cars produced in each of automaker's plants.
Production of the Chrysler LH platform
Chrysler LH platform
The LH platform served as the basis for the Chrysler Concorde, Chrysler LHS, Chrysler 300M, Dodge Intrepid, Eagle Vision, and the final Chrysler New Yorker. A Plymouth to be called the "Accolade" was planned, but never saw production...
cars began in June 1992 and continued with the updated LH cars in 1997. Production switched to the rear-wheel drive Chrysler LX platform
Chrysler LX platform
The LX platform is Chrysler's full-size rear wheel drive automobile platform for the mid part of the first decade of the 21st century. The LX was developed in America from the previous Chrysler LH platform, which had been designed to allow it to be easily upgraded to rear and all-wheel drive...
cars in January 2004.
The attached Brampton Satellite Stamping, which opened in 1991, was built for the launch of the Chrysler LH platform
Chrysler LH platform
The LH platform served as the basis for the Chrysler Concorde, Chrysler LHS, Chrysler 300M, Dodge Intrepid, Eagle Vision, and the final Chrysler New Yorker. A Plymouth to be called the "Accolade" was planned, but never saw production...
.
At that time, the Brampton Assembly operated with three shifts of production. It is the city of Brampton's largest employer, with over 4,200 people working there.
On July 19, 2007 Chrysler Group announced an investment of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1.2 billion in the Brampton plant for upgrades to the Chrysler 300 series, Dodge Magnum, and Dodge Charger, as well as a $500 million manufacturing investment to prepare for European-market LX platform product loading.
On November 1, 2007 Chrysler LLC announced that it is ending the third shift in Brampton with the loss of 1,000 direct jobs as well as declaring that production of the Dodge Magnum in Brampton will end in early 2008.
On May 1, 2009, both the Brampton Assembly and Windsor Assembly
Windsor Assembly
Windsor Assembly is a Chrysler automobile factory in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The factory opened in 1928 and started minivan production in 1983. Windsor Assembly is also Windsor's largest employer with about 4,450 employees.-Overview:...
plants were shut down as a result of Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
's bankruptcy protection filing on April 30 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, affecting about 2,700 employees at the Brampton Assembly and 4,400 at the Windsor Assembly. A Chrysler parts plant in Etobicoke, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
operated until May 10, when it was closed down for 30 to 60 days, affecting 300 employees, while it went through restructuring under court-ordered creditor protection.
After the reorganization, Chrysler announced the launch of new models of the 300 and Charger to be produced in the Brampton assembly plant, beginning in 2010.
The factory began production of the redesigned 2011 Chrysler 300 in January 2011. At this time total employment was 2,871 (2,733 hourly; 138 salaried) working two shifts.
Products
- 1988 – 1992 Eagle PremierEagle PremierThe Eagle Premier was a full-size automobile developed by the American Motors Corporation and Renault partnership, inherited by Chrysler Corporation when it acquired AMC in 1987, and marketed from 1987 through 1992...
- 1990 – 1992 Dodge MonacoDodge MonacoThe Dodge Monaco was a full-size automobile built and sold by the Dodge division of the Chrysler Corporation between 1965 to 1978, and 1990 to 1992.-A Grand Prix competitor:...
- 1993 – 1997 Eagle VisionEagle VisionThe Eagle Vision was a full-size, front-wheel drive sedan, marketed as a sports version of the Chrysler LH platform, produced from 1993-1997. It was sold by the Eagle division of the Chrysler Corporation, replacing the AMC/Renault-designed Eagle Premier...
- 1993 – 2004 Chrysler ConcordeChrysler ConcordeThe Chrysler Concorde was a large four-door, full-size, front wheel drive sedan produced by Chrysler from 1993 to 2004. It replaced the Chrysler Fifth Avenue on the lineup. One of Chrysler's 3 original Chrysler LH platform models derived from the American Motors/Renault-designed Eagle Premier, it...
- 1993 – 2004 Dodge IntrepidDodge IntrepidThe Dodge Intrepid is a large four-door, full-size, front-wheel drive sedan car model that was produced for model years 1993 to 2004. It was mechanically related to the Chrysler Concorde, Chrysler LHS, Chrysler New Yorker, Eagle Vision, and also the 300M sedans...
- 1994 – 1996 Chrysler New YorkerChrysler New YorkerThe Chrysler New Yorker was a premium automobile built by the Chrysler Corporation from 1939–1996, serving for several years as the brand's flagship model. A model named the "New York Special" first appeared in the 1930s...
- 1994 – 2001 Chrysler LHSChrysler LHSThe Chrysler LHS is a full-size, front wheel drive car based on the Chrysler LH platform.Having been praised throughout its production run as offering a blend of high-end features, along with solid performance, the LHS was marketed as a rival to other cars costing thousands more...
- 1999 – 2004 Chrysler 300MChrysler 300MThe Chrysler 300M is a sports sedan produced by Chrysler from 1999 to 2004. Chrysler Corporation revived the 300 name on the 300M. This time it was a front-wheel drive, V6 engined car using the Chrysler LH platform. While not technically part of the famous "letter series" of the 1950s and 1960s,...
- 2005 – 2008 Dodge MagnumDodge MagnumThe Dodge Magnum name has been used on a number of different automobiles. The most recent is a large rear-wheel drive station wagon introduced in 2004 for the 2005 model year and produced through to 2008. This new Magnum is Dodge's first car to use the new Chrysler LX platform, shared with the...
- 2005 – Present Chrysler 300Chrysler 300The Chrysler 300 is a full-size upscale car first shown at the 2003 New York Auto Show as a concept car. Sales in the U.S. began in the spring of 2004 as an early 2005 model year car. Designed by Ralph Gilles, the new 300 was built as a high-end sedan while the SRT-8 model was designed to be the...
- 2006 – Present Dodge ChargerDodge Charger (LX)The Dodge Charger LX is a rear-wheel drive four-door automobile introduced in February 2005. Built by Chrysler for its North American Dodge brand, the car was created to continue the Dodge Charger line, and replaced the Dodge Intrepid as Dodge's full-size sedan...
- 2008 – Present Dodge ChallengerDodge ChallengerThe Dodge Challenger is the name of three different generations of automobiles marketed by the Dodge division of Chrysler.The first generation Dodge Challenger was a pony car built from 1970 to 1974, using the Chrysler E platform and sharing major components with the Plymouth Barracuda. The second...
- 2011 - Present Lancia ThemaLancia ThemaThe Lancia Thema is an executive car produced by the Italian automaker Lancia between 1984 and 1994, and one of four cars to share the Type Four platform alongside the Alfa Romeo 164, Fiat Croma and Saab 9000...
Annual Production
- 1988 = 59,068
- 1989 = 33,904
- 1990 = 24,676
- 1991 = 18,133
- 1992 = 50,660
- 1993 = 256,754
- 1994 = 256,211
- 1995 = 188,782
- 1996 = 238,965
- 1997 = 204,137
- 1998 = 300,866
- 1999 = 338,921
- 2000 = 291,884
- 2001 = 198,965
- 2002 = 201,723
- 2003 = 140,642
- 2004 = 209,045
- 2005 = 318,536
- 2006 = 314,161
- 2007 = 273,285
- 2008 = 210,704
- 2009 = 121,715 (Bankruptcy Year)
- 2010 = 163,257
Overall Production = 4,414,995
AMC's original Brampton plant
The current Chrysler factory is not the same as a nearby American Motors (AMC) plant that shared the same name.American Motors' original "Brampton Assembly Plant" opened in 1966. It was part of American Motors Canada, Inc. and was located at northeast corner of Steeles Avenue and Kennedy Road. In its first year, it produced 33,000 cars in Canada. This assembly plant produced Rambler American
Rambler American
The Rambler American is an automobile manufactured by the American Motors Corporation between 1958 and 1969. The American was the second incarnation of AMC's forerunner Nash Motors second-generation Rambler compact that was sold under the Nash and Hudson Motors marques from 1954 and 1955.The...
s, AMC Rebel
AMC Rebel
The AMC Rebel is a mid-size car produced by American Motors Corporation from 1967 to 1970. It replaced the Rambler Classic. The Rebel was replaced by the similar AMC Matador for the 1971 model year...
s, Ambassadors
AMC Ambassador
- 1958 :American Motors planned to produce a stretched a wheelbase version of the Rambler platform for Nash dealers to be the new Nash Ambassador, and another for Hudson dealers...
, and Javelins
AMC Javelin
The Javelin was a production version of one of the AMC AMX prototypes shown during the 1966 AMX project nationwide tour. Intended to rival other pony cars such as the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. American Motor's Javelin debuted on 22 August 1967, for the 1968 model year...
.
American Motors was in the best position of the U.S. automakers to take advantage of the Canada–United States Automotive Products Agreement. The Ambassador and Javelin production was moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...
while assembly of Ramblers and Rebels increased. By 1969, the year of the introduction of the Hornet, the output of AMC's Brampton operation was destined to the eastern half of the continent while production at Kenosha supplied the western regions.
The original Brampton plant later also produced Gremlins
AMC Gremlin
The AMC Gremlin is a two-door subcompact car produced in the United States and Canada by the American Motors Corporation between 1970 and 1978. AMC reduced its development and manufacturing costs by adapting a shortened Hornet platform with a Kammback-type tail...
, Concords
AMC Concord
The AMC Concord is a compact car produced by the American Motors Corporation for the 1978 through 1983 model years. The Concord replaced the AMC Hornet and to some extent the mid-size AMC Matador, discontinued after 1978 in a market moving to downsized automobiles...
and Eagles
AMC Eagle
The AMC Eagle is a compact-sized four-wheel drive passenger vehicle that was produced by American Motors Corporation . The AMC Eagle line of vehicles inaugurated a new product category of "sport-utility" or crossover SUV....
, as well as Jeep CJ
Jeep CJ
The Willys CJ is a public version of the famous Willys Military Jeep from World War II.The first CJ prototype was introduced in 1944 by Willys, and the same basic vehicle stayed in production through seven variants and three corporate parents until 1986.A variant of the CJ is still in production...
and Wrangler
Jeep Wrangler
The Jeep Wrangler is a subcompact four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle and an off-road vehicle manufactured by American automaker Chrysler, under its Jeep marque – and now in its fourth generation. It is a successor to the famous World War II 'Jeep' vehicle by way of the Willys civilian...
vehicles.
In 1987, with the Chrysler buy-out, the AMC division and its plants (Brampton and Bramalea) were absorbed into Chrysler, becoming part of Chrysler Canada Limited. When the Jeep Wrangler production was moved to Toledo in 1992, the new Bramalea plant was renamed to Brampton Assembly. The original AMC plant was closed in 1992 and sold to Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
for use as their Canadian warehouse.
The remains of the plant were torn down in 2005, and the land is currently under redevelopment. Among the buildings on the site is a Lowe's
Lowe's
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves more than 14 million customers a week in its 1,710 stores in the United States and 20 in Canada. Expansion into Canada began in...
home improvement store, one of the first to be built in Canada.