June 13, 2007
Governor Doyle Announces $16.8 Million for Chrysler's Plant Upgrade
Governor Jim Doyle today announced a $16.8 million incentive package to assist the
Chrysler Group in retooling their Kenosha Engine plant and secure their presence in Wisconsin. The $16.8
million package, a joint offering from the City of Kenosha, Kenosha County, American Transmission
Company (ATC), We Energies and the State, attracted Chrysler’s investment of $450 million in the
Kenosha plant to prepare for the launch of a new family of fuel-efficient V-6 engines. The Governor made
the announcement at the firm’s 1.9-million square-foot plant in Kenosha. Also in attendance were representatives from Chrysler, Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian, Kenosha County Executive Allan Kehl and United Auto Workers Local 72 representatives, including President Dan Kirk.
“As we move this economy forward, we will continue to invest in a strong, growing, vibrant, and innovative
manufacturing sector that not only leads the region and the nation, but is the envy of the world,” Governor
Doyle said (pictured right). “Chrysler’s $450 million commitment demonstrates our ability to continue attracting important
investments and high paying jobs for our workforce. I am pleased that the state could be a good partner
with Chrysler as they retool their Kenosha plant to meet the needs of a growing economy.”
Speaking for Chrysler was Director of State Relations Fred Hoffman, Plant Manager Kevin Sell and Vice President of Powertrain Manufacturing Richard Chow-Wah. "This retooling investment will allow us to build an entirely new, globally competitive family of V-6 engines,"
said Chow-Wah. "but this $450 million investment is really in the people of this plant."
The Kenosha plant will have a competitive labor agreement that incorporates Smart manufacturing initiatives, volume-bundled parts purchasing, volume-bundled capital investment and standardized tooling.
The $16.8 million incentive package includes:
- $7 million loan from the Department of Commerce to aid in the capital investment and upgrading
the facility’s power infrastructure
- $3 million in training assistance grants including $1 million from Gateway Technical College, Department of Commerce and the Department of Workforce Development
- $2 million loan from the City of Kenosha to aid in the capital investment and upgrading the facility’s power infrastructure
- $1 million loan from Kenosha County to aid in the capital investment and upgrading the facility’s power infrastructure
- $3.8 million in assistance from ATC & WE Energies to upgrade the electrical service to the facility
The investment and retooling are part of an extensive powertrain offensive that will commit a total of $3 billion to develop and launch the new Phoenix engines which will ultimately replace the Chrysler Group's four existing V-6 engine families.
This investment supports Chrysler's ongoing product offensive that will bring more than 20 all-new vehicles and 13  refreshed models to market from 2007 to 2009.
Scheduled to begin production in late 2010, the state-of-the-art plant will have an annual production capacity of 400,000 units when it reaches full volume and employ 700 full time workers. In addition to the Kenosha plant, Phoenix engines will be manufactured in plants to be built in Michigan and Mexico.
Fred Hoffman (pictured left), Director of State Relations for Chrysler Corporation said in closing that the retooling will guarantee the plant life until 2017, which would mark 100 years of auto manufacturing on the site, "You ought to start planning for your centennial!" he said.
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