Honda of America celebrated major milestones in the local area during 2019, marking the 40th year of production in America and Ohio in September, and also the 30th anniversary of the opening of the East Liberty Plant during December.
Now entering a new decade and looking to the future, the auto manufacturer already this year has made commitments to advance the skills of its current and future workforce. During January, representatives signed the White House’s Pledge to America’s Workers at its Technical Development Center located at the Honda Heritage Center in Marysville, as previously detailed in the Examiner.
As part of the pledge, the company committed to offering job training opportunities for 50,000 workers in the next five years to ensure that the company’s associates who design, produce, sell and service its products have the necessary education to succeed in a world of rapidly-changing technology. The company also will continue to advocate for programs that educate future workers about manufacturing as a potential career.
“We applaud the White House’s efforts to equip the workforce of today and tomorrow with the skills needed to succeed and are honored to join the growing family of pledges,” Rick Schostek, executive vice president of Honda North America, Inc. and a board member of the National Association of Manufacturers, said in a release.
“Honda’s success has always been dependent on our dedicated and skilled associates. As we embark on our fifth decade of manufacturing products in America, we remain committed to creating new opportunities to help the next generation workforce develop the critical skills needed to compete in the modern age of mobility.”
In another initiative to build enthusiasm for the jobs of the future, the auto manufacturer also announced in January it will be among the title mobility sponsors for Creators Wanted, an initiative developed by the National Association of Manufacturers. The program aims to spur manufacturing employment, expose prospective employees and youth to the many aspects of the manufacturing industry and address misperceptions about careers in the manufacturing industry.
“We are proud to have them as the official mobility sponsor of the Creators Wanted Tour, and their leadership will help us reach a new generation of modern manufacturing workers in their own communities across our country,” NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said. “With their pledge and with this sponsorship, Honda continues to build our future.”
Honda was the first Japanese automaker to produce products in America, beginning with motorcycles in 1979, followed by the start of automobile production in Marysville on Nov. 1, 1982.
Over the course of four decades, Honda has steadily grown its manufacturing capabilities in the region. Earlier this year, associates at Honda of America Mfg. at Marysville celebrated when the company’s 20 millionth automobile produced in Ohio rolled off the assembly line Jan. 13 — a 2020 Platinum White Pearl Honda Accord Hybrid.
The 20 million vehicles reflect the cumulative output of Honda’s three Ohio auto plants — the Marysville Auto Plant, the East Liberty Auto Plant, and the Performance Manufacturing Center.
The Marysville Auto Plant, with two production lines, is Honda’s largest vehicle production facility in the country. In 1989, Honda added a second auto plant in Ohio, the East Liberty Auto Plant.
The company began Ohio production of the Acura NSX supercar in 2016 at its newly-established Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville. Honda also builds engines and transmissions in Ohio at the company’s Anna Engine Plant and Honda Transmission Manufacturing of America.
Also this year, Honda R&D Americas Inc. in Raymond earned the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s top platinum award for emphasis on waste reduction, community service and outreach. Ohio EPA’s Encouraging Environmental Excellence (E3) program recognizes businesses and other organizations for completing environmentally beneficial activities and serves as an incentive for organizations to commit to ongoing environmental stewardship.
To earn the platinum award, a business or organization must expand their environmental program beyond their facilities and demonstrate how their environmental stewardship efforts benefit the local community, region or larger geographic area.
Honda R&D Americas — Honda’s second-largest R&D center in the world — is responsible for creating advanced technologies and automobile and powersports products for Honda and Acura customers in North America and global markets.
In celebration of the company’s 40th anniversary in America in 2019, Tom Shoupe, Honda of America Manufacturing executive vice president, addressed audiences in West and Central Ohio telling the story of Honda in Ohio. He noted the company plans to electrify two-thirds of it fleet by 2030 and Ohio will play a significant role globally for the automaker.
The future, he said, will offer opportunities for advancement and high tech training, but it will not be possible without people.
“We’ve always worked to transfer our culture and values to the next generation of associates,” Shoupe said in a previous Examiner story. “Honda has always put a significant emphasis on its people. It’s always viewed technology as a tool developed by people and without people, you have nothing.”
Since 1979, the automaker has: invested more than $11 billion in its Ohio operations; ramped up engine and transmission production to exceed one million units per year; grown its purchasing of parts and materials to $10 billion annually; expanded to include research and development and parts procurement; and given more than $100 million to Ohio community organizations.