An Illustrated Look At The Assembly Line That Makes Ram Trucks

From the December 2017 issue

Here’s an inside look at Fiat Chrysler’s stamping and truck plants in Warren, Michigan, where parts for the Ram 1500 Quad and Crew Cabs are made and the trucks are built. The two factories cover more than 5.4 million square feet and produced 332,830 trucks in 2016. That’s a brand-spanking-new pickup truck every 94.8 seconds.

Stage One: Stamping

A team of 1732 hourly workers monitors 380 robotized presses and machines that stamp up to 12,000 hoods, roofs, liftgates, floor pans, and fenders per day for the Chrysler Pacifica, Dodge Grand Caravan and Durango, Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee, and Ram trucks. Switching dies to change what’s being stamped can take as little as four minutes.

Stage Two: Welding

The 405 robots in this stage precisely weld steel frames and the stamped body panels for the Ram 1500 Quad and Crew Cab pickups. The 565 workers here load parts into the machines, maintain the robots, and assure the quality of the welds and construction.

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Stage Three: Paint Shop

Another 652 workers and 42 robots apply a rustproof “e-coating”—essentially a static-cling primer—to the vehicle panels before painting them in one of 28 colors. Every so often, customers interested in peacocking order their trucks in Robin Egg Blue or Detonator Yellow.

Stage Four: Assembly

A total of 2770 workers fit doors, instrument panels, seats, bumpers, wiring harnesses, and that air suspension you can’t live without. Machines help with the heavy lifting, but there are no automated robots on duty here, just human hands. Three crews divide up a 120-hour production week, each working one of two 10-hour shifts, six days a week.

Clifford AtiyehContributing Editor

Clifford Atiyeh is a reporter and photographer for Car and Driver, specializing in business, government, and litigation news. He is president of the New England Motor Press Association and committed to saving both manuals and old Volvos.