Honda’s Ohio Transmission Plant is celebrating 25 years of production today, and associate Laurie Davia of Bellefontaine remembers the excitement and opportunity as preparations were being made to open the company’s first dedicated U.S. transmission plant in Russells Point during 1996.
That year, transmission manufacturing lines were relocated from the Anna Engine plant to a wholly-owned Honda supplier, Bellemar Parts Industries, in Russells Point. In 1997, Bellemar was incorporated as Honda Transmission of America.
Davia, who was hired in at Bellemar at age 20 following her graduation from Marysville High School, said Bellemar “had a good score card as a supplier and we were trusted to take on this new assignment of building transmissions.”
She and other associates trained at the Anna Engine plant at that time to learn the process of building the transmissions before getting settled into the Russells Point facility. Working as a staff member on the line at the new plant was memorable for the Logan County resident.
“I enjoyed this challenge — its was one of my favorite times of my career,” said Davia, who now serves as an assistant manager of the business control group, and also has worked as a new model leader and line leader at the plant.
Since starting transmission production in 1996, the Ohio Transmission Plant has expanded the scope of its operations and products to keep pace with Honda’s growing lineup of passenger cars and light trucks.
With a total investment of more than $1 billion, the 1.1-million square-foot transmission plant produces more than 850,000 transmissions per year, as well as gear sets and transfer cases and differentials for four-wheel drive vehicles.
“The transformation has been incredible during these last 25 years. It’s a certainly a milestone worth celebrating,” said Gerald Bruch, Honda Development and Manufacturing of America, LLC vice president, who manages the Russells Point facility, along with the Georgia Transmission Plant, which marked its 15th anniversary in May.
Both Honda transmission plant locations were combined this spring under one new company — Honda Development & Manufacturing of America, LLC — which includes all Honda automobile manufacturing facilities in the U.S. related to frame, engine, transmission, and related engineering and purchasing operations.
The local plant’s transmission product line-up started with the production of four-speed automatic transmissions (4AT) in 1996, followed by five-speed automatic transmissions (5AT) in 2005 and six-speed automatic transmissions in 2010.
As the company takes on new responsibilities toward electrifying its vehicle lineup and working toward a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040, the Russells Point facility and its associates have embraced the technical changes required while rolling out Honda’s new two-motor hybrid system, Bruch said.
In March of 2018, the Ohio Transmission Plant began building this two-motor hybrid system for the 2019 Insight.
“We have a Blue Skies for Our Children Initiative and want to pass along a healthy planet to our children,” said Bruch, who is a 30-year Honda employee. “It was a smooth start-up thanks to the dedicated work of our associates. Their passion and team spirit have been inspiring to me.”
Today’s transmission types produced at the facility include a two-motor hybrid system transmission for the Accord Hybrid, CR-V Hybrid and Insight Hybrid sedan and a continuous variable (CVT) pulley driven transmission. In addition, the plant produces a P2 Planetary Gear Assembly that is used in every gear setting in the 10AT produced in Georgia.
Also related to environmentally-friendly practices, the Russells Point facility became the first major automotive manufacturing plant in the United States during 2014 to derive a substantial amount of its electricity directly from wind turbines located on its property.
The plant was recently recognized with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with an Energy Star Certificate for Outstanding Energy Efficiency and became the first U.S. automotive transmission plant to earn this award.
Davia said while the plant has greatly expanded and implemented technology changes over the last 25 years, the company values have remained steadfast. She has enjoyed being involved with the manufacturing support group for associate engagement.
During her early years of service at age 22, she remembers a friendly competition, where she and fellow associates were invited to develop a solution to a seat line issue, and her innovative ideas garnered her a trip to Japan.
“That was a trip that will always stick with me, and it was a neat experience knowing I could make a difference at such a young age,” said the associate who will mark her 35th year anniversary with Honda and Bellemar in the upcoming weeks.
“The core values are the same as when Mr. Honda started began the company. They listen to their associates and want to improve upon the manufacturing processes in place.”
“That’s part of Honda’s core philosophy — a bottom to top approach of gathering feedback,” Bruch said. “Our associates working on the line know the situation and can provide us with their first-hand experiences.”