Nissan Expanding Two U.S. Manufacturing Plants

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Nissan North America, Incorporated (Gardena, California), a subsidiary of Nissan Motor Corporation (NASDAQ (SC):NSANY) (Tokyo, Japan), is already well into a major expansion of its yet unopened plant in Canton, Mississippi. The $750 million mirror-image expansion will double the size of the originally planned one million square foot plant. Production is scheduled to begin fall of 2003. Construction for a number of on-site Tier I suppliers is also underway.

Engineering and design on the two million square foot plant was done by SSOE, Incorporated (Toledo, Ohio). The general contractor on both phases of construction is Yates-Wallbridge Construction (Madison, Mississippi).

Nissan's Smyrna, Tennessee, plant will soon be expanded by 500,000 square feet. Construction is scheduled to kick off later this year. Completion is targeted for late 2003. The Smyrna plant will add the 350Z model to its production line-up beginning next month, with annual Z-series production expected to be 39,000. Nissan has just recently released a series of 1,000 special order, pre-production Z-series vehicles. The first U.S.-built Maximas went into production at this plant earlier this year.

Engineering on the Smyrna project was done by Nissan's Smyrna engineering department and SSOE, and the primary facility contractor is Yates-Wallbridge. A new paint shop facility, will be built by TKS Industrial (Troy, Michigan). Equipment installation is usually handled as a turnkey operation with Nissan, each project being bid individually. The Smyrna plant's new powerhouse, also a separate project, will be built by Stanley Jones Corporation (South Fulton, Tennessee).

Nissan Motor Corporation, Japan's #2 automotive manufacturer, after Toyota, has recently managed to pull itself out of a financial hole under the stringent leadership of Carlos Ghosn. The new, leaner organization is expecting great results from its U.S. subsidiary, which is gearing up its production to attempt to meet the increasing demand for its cars.