TOLEDO (WTOL) - Jeep’s north Toledo assembly plant is home to more than 5,000 employees and plenty of technology to help them do their jobs efficiently.
"I'm proud of the workforce more so than the equipment," said complex manager Chuck Padden. "The equipment can be the same around the world but the workforce and the dedication to the product, the dedication to doing things right, the team that's been built, that's really what I'm most proud of."
Padden could rave about his 5,,600 strong staff for hours. But working alongside these folks are scores of machines, making it possible to produce so many Jeep Wranglers each day.
Through September, the plant pushed out 337,649 new Wranglers. From start to finish, it takes roughly 24 hours to produce a single vehicle.
For Vickie Marino, who's worked for the company for 35 years, the emergence of this new equipment hasn't gone unnoticed.
"I mean just the ergonomics and the technology that we've caught up to date with all the other plants and with what's going on in the world today," she said. "It's just state of the art out there."
This plant will also play a key role in the production of the new Jeep truck, set to be unveiled at the end of this month in Los Angeles. It has workers fired up for a new opportunity and the inevitable addition of jobs.
For the time being, they'll continue to produce and deliver countless Jeep Wranglers all across the world.
“That is what we’re here for,” Padden said. “To all come together to build the best products that we can.”