Largest Honda Engine Plant Reached Milestone

Anthony Fontanelle
May 24, 2007

In 1985, Japanese car manufacturer Honda opened an engine plant in Anna, Ohio, and on the 21st of this month, the facility produced its 15 millionth engine. The Anna engine plant is currently the largest Honda engine assembly facility. Reaching that milestone is further complemented by an expansion in the facility which will surely provide more individuals with jobs.

Honda is currently investing $75 million in expanding the Anna engine plant. The expansion will enable the plant to produce connecting rods and camshafts as the expansion is completed. The completion of the expansion is expected by the end of the year. Currently, the connecting rods and camshafts of Honda engines are being produced in Japan.

Dan Smith, the Honda of America Vice-president and plant manager of the Anna engine assembly facility, has this to say at the celebration of the production of the 15 millionth engine: “Today we are not only celebrating a production milestone, but the efforts of our associates, past and present, to satisfy 15 million customers.” He added that: “Engines power our products. But people power our engines, and the outstanding efforts of Honda associates in Ohio are the reason we continue to invest in the expansion of our operations.”

The milestone engine is a six-cylinder engine which will be the power behind a Honda Accord Coupe which will be built at the Marysville Auto Plant - located just 45 miles from the Anna engine plant. The largest engine plant that Honda owns has three assembly lines and two foundries. These foundries are for aluminum and for ferrous castings. The expansion will increase the total number of parts that the facility produces. Currently, the production facility manufactures drive shafts, connecting rods, brake components, and engine blocks. Aside from supplying engine to the Marysville auto assembly plant, the Anna engine assembly facility will also be the supplier of Honda engines to the Honda Manufacturing of Indiana which is on its way to completion. The Anna engine plant is expected to supply the new Honda auto assembly factory its needed engines by the fall of next year.

With the expansion of the Anna engine plant, it is easy to see that the facility can supply both the Marysville and the Indiana facility with engines. Currently, the Anna engine assembly plant can produce 1.15 million engines per year. It was calculated that at that rate, the facility will reach the 15 million mark again after 13 years. The facility produces different engines for various Honda car models built in the United States. These models are the Honda Accord Sedan and Coupe, Civic Sedan, Coupe and Si, Element, Ridgeline and the CR-V.

The engine plant also produces engines for Honda’s luxury division Acura. The Acura MDX and CSX are the two models supplied with powerplants by the Anna engine plant.

As far as milestones are concerned, the Marysville car assembly plant will also be reaching a milestone of their own later this year. The said assembly facility is the site where the first Japanese car was made in the United States. That first car is an Accord and it rolled off the Marysville assembly line 25 years ago. The commemoration of that milestone coincides with the production of 2008 model year Accord at the said facility.

Currently, the engine assembly facility in Anna has more than 15,000 employees from the state of Ohio. Aside from providing jobs for individuals in the state, Honda also has more than $6.2 billion worth of investment in the said state. The Anna engine plant alone represents an investment of $1.4 billion after it was expanded many times over its 22 years of existence.

Source:  Amazines.com