Toledo Complex
Encyclopedia
The Toledo Complex is an 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 in Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...

. Currently owned by 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....

, sections of the facility have operated as an automobile assembly plant since 1910, originally for Willys-Overland vehicles. The Toledo complex has assembled Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...

s since the 1940s, and comprises two factories: Toledo North and Toledo South, which itself includes the Stickney Plant and the Parkway Annex.

Toledo South

The Toledo South Assembly Plant is the original 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...

 assembly factory. It was rebuilt for manufacture of the JK Wrangler for Jeep, starting on August 28, 2006. The plant actually consists of two interconnected units, the Stickney Plant (4000 Stickney Ave) and the Parkway Annex (1000 Jeep Parkway). In recent years, basic assembly and painting of the Jeep Wrangler has been done in the Parkway facility. The antiquated arrangement at the old operation included operations spread through a disorganized array of buildings and required that vehicles and components be moved through multiple building levels. Final assembly of vehicles took place at Stickney, but facility constraints required that bodies first be painted at Parkway and then moved through tunnels and across bridges to reach the assembly line.

The Parkway site will no longer be used starting with the 2007 Wrangler. The Stickney site is the first North American operation to have three major assembly plant facilities (Body Shop, Paint Shop and Chassis Assembly) to be owned and operated by suppliers.

Stickney

The Stickney Plant was opened in 1942 by Autolite and sold to Kaiser-Jeep in 1964. It was used as a machining and engine plant until 1981 when it was converted for vehicle production. It began producing the Jeep Grand Wagoneer that year through 1991 when final assembly of the Wrangler was moved there. It is now often referred to by the name Toledo Supplier Park after the body and paint functions were moved there from the Parkway site and the stamping operations moved to other Chrysler plants.
See: Stickney Plant, 4000 Stickney Ave: 41°41′40.06"N 83°31′31.14"W

Parkway

The Parkway Annex was opened in 1904 as a bicycle factory. Its use as an automobile assembly plant dates from 1910, when it was purchased by Willys-Overland. The plant began producing the Jeep in the 1940s and was renamed the Toledo Assembly Plant when Chrysler purchased American Motors in 1987. Basic assembly and painting of the Wrangler body was done at the Parkway plant through 2006, when it was closed. At that time, it was the oldest operating automotive assembly plant in the United States.

The Parkway plant includes landmark smokestacks spelling out "Overland" in bricks. It was home to military Jeep production as well as the Jeep museum. One third of the plant was demolished in 2002, including the former museum, and the remainder is being demolished. Two of the three "Overland" smokestacks, a Toledo landmark since 1915, were demolished on June 18, 2007. The future of the remaining stack, left alone by Chrysler LLC, is subject to the development plans of a future owner; the site is currently not
for sale.
See: Parkway Annex, 1000 Jeep Parkway: 41°41′45.69"N 83°33′58.7"W

Toledo North

The Toledo North Assembly Plant was opened in 2001 building the unibody Jeep Liberty
Jeep Liberty
Inspired by styling from the Dakar and Jeepster concept cars, the Liberty was intended as a replacement for the discontinued Jeep Cherokee . Three trim levels were initially offered; the top end Limited, a more rugged looking Renegade and the base Sport. All were made available with either 2WD or 4WD...

. The 2.14-million-square-foot (199,000 m2) plant sits on 200 acres (80.9 ha) at 4400 Chrysler Drive and construction began in 1997. The plant employs 3,408 workers.
See: Toledo North, 4400 Chrysler Drive, Toledo, OH: 41°40′50.27"N 83°31′45.26"W


A third Chrysler plant is located in nearby Perrysburg, Ohio
Perrysburg, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,945 people, 6,592 households, and 4,561 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,899.2 people per square mile . There were 6,964 housing units at an average density of 780.5 per square mile...

. The Toledo Machining Plant opened in 1967 and is located at 8000 Chrysler Drive. This plant was owned and operated by Chrysler before the acquisition of Jeep by Chrysler.
See: Toledo Machining Plant, 8000 Chrysler Drive, Perrysburg, Ohio: 41°33′11.25"N 83°32′37.14"W
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