Honda Manufacturing of Alabama in late March announced it would invest $85 million for the first of a multi-phase project to improve manufacturing flexibility at its plant in Talladega County.
“This significant financial investment in our Lincoln facility will enhance Honda’s manufacturing efficiency and flexibility to help us meet strong customer demand for our products and prepare us for future opportunities in our industry, ” HMA President Jeff Tomko said.
The new project is also aimed at strengthening the logistic efficiency for future models and preparing for future technologies, company officials said.
HMA builds four different light truck products — with sole responsibility for production of the Honda Odyssey, Pilot and Ridgeline, as well as production of the Acura MDX. The new investment includes a building expansion at the south end of Line 1 for HMA’s vehicle assembly operations. Construction for this initial phase of the project is expected to be complete in 2018.
In addition to production of the Odyssey minivan, Pilot sport utility vehicle, Ridgeline pickup truck and Acura MDX luxury SUV, HMA builds the V-6 engines that power each vehicle. The $2.2 billion facility employs more than 4, 500 associates at its current 3.7 million-square-foot facility, with the capacity to produce 340, 000 vehicles and engines each year.
With this project, HMA’s total capital investment since 2011 exceeds $750 million, including the addition of more than 450 workers in Lincoln.
Text by Dave Helms
