Hundreds gather for PROC closing

Posted on Friday, June 12th, 2009 at 12:19 PM EDT.

Several hundred current and former employees gathered June 5 to recognize the complex that established the Jeep® brand and vehicle as the 4×4 off-road king and helped launch the growth of the sport-utility vehicle market.

The gathering of more than 800 was held to honor the Plymouth Road Office Complex (PROC) in Detroit, which is closing as part of the company’s current restructuring. The employees enjoyed a lunch of hot dogs, potato chips and soda pop and heard a number of speakers, including former executives. Frank Klegon, former Executive Vice President—Product Design, was joined by Scott Kunselman, Senior Vice President—Product Engineering, and former executive Craig Love.

The event was held in the parking lot next to the facility with a number of vehicles development at the complex on display.

Plymouth Road is one of the Chrysler Group’s oldest facilities and one with a storied history. The complex, located on Detroit’s west side, was the home to several thousand employees over the years.

The building, which was designed by the Detroit architectural firm of Smith, Hinchman and Grylls, was built in 1926 and was the home of Kelvinator Corp., where refrigerators were designed, tested and manufactured. Kelvinator merged with Nash Motor Co. in 1937, and the complex served as the headquarters for Nash-Kelvinator Corp. and later for American Motors Corp. when Nash-Kelvinator merged with the Hudson Motor Car Co. in 1954.

During World War II, more than 250 helicopters were produced at the facility.

In March 1987, American Motors was bought by Chrysler Corporation, and the complex was turned into the principal location for the engineering, development and testing for Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge body-on-frame and rear-wheel-drive vehicles.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 12th, 2009 at 12:19 PM EDT and is filed under Employee, Jeep. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Comments are currently closed.