By Joe Hornaday
Greensburg Daily News

GREENSBURG, Ind.

When a Honda Civic Sedan begins construction on the assembly line at the new Honda Manufacturing of Indiana (HMIN) factory in Greensburg, it hardly resembles the car it will become.

Before it is complete, the Civic passes through the hands and tools of hundreds of skilled associates. Using state-of-the-art machinery to construct the pieces that form the automobile, the equipment whizzes the unfinished car around the assembly area.

The first Civic to roll off the factory floor did so on Oct. 9. The first one purchased was sold in Chicago on Oct. 25.

Honda began training potential employees in January, before the Greensburg plant was operational. According to body assembly department manager Doug Winkle, Honda will continue to train associates as they keep bringing them in to reach full capacity with 2,000 employees. Currently, the plant has 900 workers on the factory floor. With two shifts working at full capacity, 800 Civics per day will come off the assembly line.

Because putting together a car can be a dangerous job, employees often work alongside and utilize robotics to build it.

“Robots do almost 100 percent of the welding,” Winkle said.

The assembly line is where the skills of the associates are truly important, Ron Lietzke of Honda Ohio noted.

Still, the robotics that aid the new vision system to install the windows come from very advanced technology that allows for precise settings.

“That is a new tech for Honda,” Lietzke said.

Winkle was glad to note that employees will soon begin rotating on two processes each day, meaning they will have the skill enough to operate two of the jobs on the assembly line. According to Winkle, the chief reason for the change is stress on body parts and care and concern for the well-being of the associates.

As new associates come in, HMIN will become more self-sufficient and the impact of other corporations will diminish. Andrew Stoner of Honda corporate communications said the existing supplier base was very strong throughout Indiana and Ohio.

“We thought transportation costs would be favorable over time,” he said.

According to Stoner, there are 21 Honda dealerships in Indiana and 50 in Ohio with an engine plant nearby as well. And even though the global economy is faltering, Lietzke and Stoner are optimistic about Honda’s future in Greensburg.

“We’ve always managed to meet market conditions,” Lietzke said. “We’re prepared for this.”

When the economy is strong, there will likely be a Saturday shift implemented to meet demand. But while the plant continues to function at less than 50 percent capacity, overtime is not an option. Until then, only about one half of the machinery, robots and associates will be whirring, twisting, shooting sparks and ultimately churning out a shiny, brand new Honda Civic Sedan.

Joe Hornaday writes for the Greensburg (Ind.) Daily News.

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Cutline:
The new Honda plant is up and running despite a gloomy national economy.
Adam Huening / Greensburg Daily News