ANNA — In 2017 Honda marked a significant production milestone in Shelby County, producing the 25 millionth engine at the Anna Engine Plant (AEP) since Honda opened the facility in 1985. The 25 millionth engine, produced on Line 4, was installed into an all-new 2018 Accord at Honda’s Marysville Auto Plant in September.
From its humble beginnings in 1985, the Anna Engine plant has evolved into Honda’s largest automobile engine plant in the world, with 3,000 associates producing nearly 4800 automobile engines each day.
“Building 25 million engines is not just a major production milestone, but symbolic of the passion and commitment invested by our associates, past and present, to satisfy 25 million customers,” said Paul Dentinger, plant manager of the Anna Engine Plant. “We continue to invest in our plant and our people to build a new generation of Honda engine products for customers here and around the world.”
His report continues:
The plant’s total investment has surpassed $2.7 billion. The most recent projects contributing to this cumulative total were part of a $47 million investment into the Anna plant for the introduction of the new engine lineup for 2018 Honda Accord, including two new, direct-injected VTEC Turbo 4-cylinder engines and the 2.0 i-VTEC Atkinson Cycle engine for the Accord Hybrid.
Awards continue to stack up for the locally-produced Honda engines and vehicles that they power. The all-new 2018 Honda Accord was named the North American Car of the Year. The Accord’s win marks the third consecutive year that a Honda model has received top honors from the North American jury of automotive journalists, with the Honda Civic and Honda Ridgeline winning the car and truck awards in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The Honda Accord also was named “America’s Best Sedan” by Car and Driver Magazine this past year. In November, the Honda CR-V, a compact sport utility vehicle assembled in neighboring Logan County, was named the SUV of the Year by Motor Trend Magazine.
For the Anna Engine Plant, it is not just about the precision that goes into the high performing engines associates make every day, it is also about the manufacturing process and constantly evolving those processes to be the best that they can be. In 2017, Anna Engine plant associates were pleased to be one of three Honda of America plants awarded the E3 Award from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The Ohio EPA’s Encouraging Environmental Excellence (E3) program recognizes an organization’s exceptional achievements in environmental stewardship. The goal of environmental stewardship is to reduce the impact on the environment beyond measures required by permit or rule, producing a better environment and conserving natural resources, resulting in long-term economic benefits.
During 2017, the Anna Engine Plant opened its doors to a wide variety of visitors and students. Among them were customers of the locally-produced Acura NSX supercar, whose engines are produced at the plant. The Acura NSX supercar is produced exclusively at the Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, Ohio, using domestic and globally sourced parts. Throughout 2017, the Performance Manufacturing Center, along with the Anna Engine Plant, hosted customers from across the country and around the world as the “NSX Insider Experience” was launched to give NSX owners an up-close and in-person experience focused on the craftsmanship involved in the engine and body of this exceptional vehicle.
The Anna Plant also is keeping an eye on the workforce of the future. Last October, AEP hosted approximately 600 students from 19 area schools as part of National Manufacturing Day. Local students received a tour of the facility, an overview of plant operations and an opportunity to attend a college fair. The goal of the event was to highlight the significant career opportunities available in today’s manufacturing.
Another annual student event at the Anna plant is the FIRST LEGO League competitions. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) LEGO League is a national competition where teams of up to 10 students ages 8-10 build a presentation and robot around a common theme. Anna engineers hosted 164 students from Shelby, Logan and Hardin Counties and helped students fine tune their robots for upcoming FIRST LEGO League competitions.
Graduating students and job-seeking individuals interested in working at Honda are encouraged to visit the job opportunities section of Honda’s website at www.ohio.honda.com. Postings on this site are provided for production opportunities, co-op and internship opportunities and professional opportunities.
