CANTON, Miss., May 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nissan North America's (NNA) vehicle manufacturing plant in Canton, Miss., celebrated its fifth year of production today. Since the plant's opening on May 27, 2003, more than 1.3 million vehicles have rolled off the assembly line.
"Nissan's Canton Plant is an impressive story of growth," said Dan Bednarzyk, vice president- Canton. "Over the past five years, this facility has consistently produced award-winning product. The Canton team has every reason to be proud of its accomplishments and excited about its future."
Nissan was the first automaker to bring vehicle assembly operations to the state of Mississippi. Within its first year of operation, the Nissan Canton plant launched five vehicle models. Since beginning production, the plant has gone from Job One to producing approximately 1,000 vehicles a day for both the Nissan and Infiniti lineup.
Today, approximately 3,700 employees build five vehicles:
-- Nissan Quest minivan
-- Nissan Titan King Cab & Crew Cab full-size trucks
-- Nissan Armada full-size sport utility vehicle
-- Infiniti QX56 full-size sport utility vehicle
-- Nissan Altima midsize sedan
"Nissan has taken advantage of Mississippi's favorable business climate and high quality workforce to build one of the Southeast's most successful automotive plants," said Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. "I congratulate Nissan for their partnership with the state; they've truly been an exemplary corporate citizen during these past five years."
The Canton Plant was a key contributor in helping Nissan establish sustainable, profitable growth. Canton will once again play a major role as Nissan begins its new five-year plan - Nissan GT 2012. The Canton plant will become the manufacturing center for a range of new Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) aimed at the significant North American commercial vehicle market. The first of three products to be produced at the plant will launch in 2010.
"LCVs will become a major contributor to the future success of Nissan in North America," said Bill Krueger, senior vice president, Manufacturing, Purchasing & Supply Chain Management and Total Customer Satisfaction, Nissan North America. "It is a tribute to our employees in Canton that it will be the manufacturing hub for these important new products, key to our sustainable growth in the U.S."
History
Nissan announced plans on Nov. 9, 2000, to build a $930 million manufacturing plant in Canton, Miss., to build a full-size pickup truck, a full-size sport utility vehicle, and the next-generation Nissan minivan.
Construction started in April of 2001 and less than a year later in February 2002 the first Mississippi residents reported to work as production technicians.
Before the plant started production, Nissan officials announced they would add one million square feet to the plant to make way for production of the Nissan Altima in 2004.
The plant celebrated its grand opening on May 27, 2003, with the launch of the Quest minivan. In that same year, it launched the Nissan Armada SUV, the brands first full-size sport utility vehicle and the Nissan Titan King Cab and Crew Cab trucks, the brands first full-size pickup trucks. In 2004, it would start production on the first U.S. built Infiniti, the full-size QX56. Later in 2004, the Altima began production - the fifth model to be launched in Canton.
In 2006, the Canton Plant earned the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Energy Star recognition, which acknowledges energy-efficient operations that have cut pollution, lowered energy consumption and reduced costs.
The plant celebrated a milestone in February of 2007 by producing its one millionth vehicle, a red Nissan Titan Crew Cab SE full-size truck.
The 3.5 million-square-foot facility is located on 1,400 acres in Canton and represents a capital investment of $1.94 billion. The Canton Plant has the capacity to produce 400,000 vehicles annually. A small number of Canton-built vehicles are exported to Persian Gulf Coast Countries, Puerto Rico, American Somoa, Guam, Canada, Taiwan, Russia, and Ukraine.
About Nissan
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010, whose key priorities are reducing CO2 emissions, cutting other emissions and increasing recycling. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and http://www.nissandriven.com / www.infiniti.com.
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