Daniels urges caution on Getrag transmission deal for Tipton County

Gov. Mitch Daniels spent Tuesday morning talking with officials at German auto supplier Getrag Corporate Group in Frankfurt, Germany. Daniels said he left the meeting encouraged, but still cautious about the possibility of a new transmission plant coming to Tipton County.

"They're taking preliminary steps," Daniels said of news Getrag has purchased 145 acres of Tipton County property. "But we need not to get ahead of ourselves. Until there's an agreement between the new owners [of Chrysler Corp.] and Getrag, it's not a done deal."

Daniels' tour of Europe has already included a Monday interview with DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche, which Daniels described during a Tuesday morning phone interview on WIOU-AM.

"I came away, at least as far as [Zetsche] is concerned, reassured that the hopes we had for continuity of jobs are going to hold up through the new ownership," Daniels said.

Shortly after Daniels' discussion with Zetsche, German auto giant DaimlerChrysler announced it would sell an 80 percent stake of its North American wing, Chrysler, to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management for $7.4 billion.

Analysts are calling the move a tacit acknowledgment the 1998 $36 billion merger between Daimler and Chrysler was a failure, and part of Daniels' mission in Germany is to learn more about how the sale could affect around 5,000 Chrysler jobs in Kokomo, as well as jobs with various Chrysler suppliers in Indiana.

Zetsche, Daniels said, wants the Getrag deal to move forward, and part of the Cerberus deal will keep current Chrysler management in place through the transition.

But during his radio interview, Daniels repeatedly cautioned listeners against considering the Getrag venture as finalized.

"What [the land purchase] means is [Getrag] has taken steps on a contingent basis," Daniels said. "Until there is an agreement to make transmissions ... jointly with Chrysler, nothing is final."

"Simply the fact Getrag had to move on that to be ready to start up in a couple years' time doesn't mean you can take it to the bank."

Daniels added that he remains "encouraged."

"And we'll leave it at that," he added.

Daniels' discussion with Zetsche also included a recap of Zetsche's talks with United Auto Workers president Ron Gettelfinger on Saturday. Zetsche said the talks went well, Daniels reported.

"The fact they're keeping the management team clearly bodes well for joint ventures," Daniels said.