By JOHN DEMPSEY, Kokomo Tribune business writer
Representatives of Getrag Corporate Group, Chrysler Group and United Auto Workers Local 685 have met and begun negotiations.
In addition, the number of possible sites for the Chrysler-Getrag joint venture site, which would employ approximately 1,200 employees to produce dual wet clutches, has been trimmed to Kokomo and Tipton.
An official of Local 685, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed union officials spent part of last week in negotiations with Getrag.
"We have had some negotiations. They came to a stopping point. We're regrouping and set to go back, but when that will happen, I don't know," the official said.
Chrysler spokesman Dave Elshoff declined comment on whether negotiations have begun.
"We'll announce something soon," he said. "We announced our agreement with Getrag on Feb. 14. The dual clutch transmission is part of $3 billion Chrysler Group will invest in powertrain technology, including new engines, transmissions and a common-axle program."
The day after Chrysler, which employees more than 6,300 people at four Kokomo plants, announced its restructuring plans, which included the joint venture with the German company, Getrag announced it had signed the memorandum of understanding on Feb. 9.
"The chance to produce these state-of-the-art dual clutch transmissions in high volumes for DaimlerChrysler is an important milestone of our global growth strategy. It underlines our conviction that this technology will also establish itself in the American market," Getrag president Tobias Hagenmeyer said.
According to Getrag's release, "Dual clutch transmissions provide superior fuel efficiency compared to more conventional technologies such as torque converter automatics and or CVTs."
Getrag also says it provides a much better shift quality and driving comfort. It is currently developing the technology with other manufacturers and expects it will have dual clutch transmissions on the European market in 2008.
According to information from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, DaimlerChrysler has reduced the number of sites for the possible Getrag facility to two.
Rob Elstro, public information for air quality at IDEM, said air quality permits for sites in Clinton, Miami and Tippecanoe counties were put on hold at the request of DaimlerChrysler.
That leaves the Kokomo site near Davis and Smith roads and the U.S. 31-Ind. 28 site in Tipton County as the lone sites for which IDEM is working on air permits.
According to its Web site, Getrag is the largest independent transmission manufacturer in the world with headquarters in Untergruppenbach, Germany. Getrag employs 12,700 people at 22 sites, including 8,102 in production.
The addition of 1,256 employees at a Kokomo-area facility would increase the number of employees involved in production by nearly 16 percent.
Getrag has three facilities in the United States, including two production facilities in the Carolinas and an axle development site in Sterling Heights, Mich.
The company employs 530 people at its Newton, N.C., site producing axles and power takeoff units while 240 people work at the Charleston, S.C., factory producing timing gears for diesel engines.