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Area Honda plant gets new vehicle to produce

Business Wire 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour. Photo by Business Wire.

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By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer Updated 10:44 PM Thursday, September 10, 2009

Honda of America Manufacturing celebrated 30 years of manufacturing in Ohio Thursday Sept. 10 by announcing that the company’s East Liberty plant will begin assembling the Accord Crosstour crossover.

Honda’s auto engine plant near Anna will make the Crosstour engine and its plant near Russells Point will produce its automatic transmission, the company also said.

The production won’t necessarily lead to additional hiring, said Tom Shoupe, a Honda senior vice president, but he said it does solidify the automaker’s place in the state.

Even through the recent recession, Honda has not laid off any employees since 1979. The automaker offered workers voluntary incentives this year to retire or move on. The company hasn’t revealed how many took those incentives.

Said Shoupe, “We think it’s a good example of our ongoing commitment in the state of Ohio. That’s clear, I think.”

On Sept. 10, 1979, 64 Honda workers began making small dirt bikes in Marysville.

In February 2008, Honda announced that it would shift motorcycle production to Japan. Today, the company has nearly 15,000 employees at Ohio manufacturing plants and other facilities. Ohio also has about 150 original equipment manufacturer parts suppliers to Honda.

Over 30 years, the company has built more than 13 million autos, 17 million engines, 1 million motorcycles, 2 million all-terrain vehicles and nearly 13 million automatic transmissions in the Buckeye State.

Honda has plants in Marysville, Anna and East Liberty. The American Honda Motor Co. has a Midwest Consolidation Center in Troy, off South Stanfield Road, with about 340 employees.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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