Newark Assembly

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Closed Office Building (April 2009)

Newark Assembly was a Chrysler automobile factory in Newark, Delaware.

Contents

[edit] History

The factory opened in 1951 as a tank plant and was converted for the production of automobiles in 1957.

It was the home for the Dodge Durango, a sport utility vehicle (SUV) since the model's introduction in 1997.

On February 14, 2007, DaimlerChrysler announced that the plant would lose one working shift in 2007, and that it would be scheduled to be shut down completely in 2009.[1]

However, in October 2008, the company announced that the closure would be moved up to the end of 2008 citing a slowdown in both the economy and demand for large vehicles.[2]

On October 24, 2009, The University of Delaware announced it had signed a deal to buy the 272-acre (1.10 km2; 0.425 sq mi) Chrysler facility for US$24.25 million.[3] The property is next to the university's south campus (the main campus is a 1/4 mile north and usually accessible by bus by students). Plans are to use it as a research and development site and for the future expansion of the university.

The University of Delaware History department and the Hugh M. Morris Library have started a project to collect interviews of the former autoworkers at the Newark Assembly plant. Beginning in February 2011, a class of students consisting of Graduate and Undergraduate students have conducted interviews of these autoworkers. The goal of the project is to preserve the lives these men and women have lived and the stories they have collected while employed by Chrysler's Newark Assembly. The interviews will be available at the University's Hugh M. Morris Library in special collections for public use and research.

[edit] Products

Facility viewed from Amtrak train (May 2010)
* Dodge Intrepids and Chrysler Concordes were only built in Newark Assembly from 1994 to 1996. During those years, Newark was an overflow plant for Brampton Assembly.
** The J-body Chrysler LeBaron coupes and convertibles were produced in St. Louis Assembly from 1987 to 1991. For 1992, production was shifted to Newark until production ended in 1993 for the coupe and 1995 for the convertible.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Coordinates: 39°39′50″N 75°45′40″W / 39.664°N 75.761°W / 39.664; -75.761


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