Canton Nissan plant restarts

Nissan Motor Co., which was shut down for three days, restarted production this morning at its Canton and Smyrna, Tenn., plants.

The company stopped building vehicles because of delays in receiving a part that controls the engine.

The shutdown left 3,300 workers in Canton and 3,500 at the Smyrna site without work. Four plants in Japan also were closed, but restarted Monday.

More than 6,500 vehicles were not produced at the two plants during the delay, based on recent production levels.

Nissan spokesman Steve Parrett said the plant would be open on Saturday to build Titans and Armadas. The Altima line will operate today through Friday.

"The market demand is greater for trucks than cars," he said of the decision to add the extra day of production.

Parrett said there have not been any other decisions made about production beyond this week.

Workers at Canton produce about 5,000 Altimas, Armadas and Titans each week.

Several manufacturers that provide parts for vehicles built at Canton also stopped or severely limited production.

Kevin Logan, senior vice president at Unipres USA, said his company's workers at the Nissan plant were scheduled to report late Monday, and the Forest plant would begin operations this morning.

Unipres builds frames for the Altima in Forest and Canton, employing 172 people.

Logan, past president of the Mississippi Auto Manufacturers Association, said Monday the few suppliers he had talked with also were set to restart.

Nissan uses a just-in-time production model that keeps a limited inventory of parts on hand, so the problems with the engine part had a ripple effect on manufacturers that make parts for the vehicles.

"Our folks understood what caused the delay," said Bill Kent, vice president at PK USA, which has about 300 employees at plants in Senatobia and Tennessee that support Nissan.

"This is not the first time this has happened to them over the years," Kent said.

Suppliers have been assured the problem has been fixed and that there should not be any slowdowns in the future, he said.

Nissan would not say how much the delay cost.

Bob Neal, a senior economist with the state College Board, said it would be difficult to put a cost on the stoppage's total economic impact.

The shutdown affects more than the companies that directly supply Nissan, he said. The plant's reach includes a network of businesses that supply uniforms, produce electricity, or provide copy paper.

He said the stoppage also may have caused workers to adjust their spending habits, affecting even more businesses.

Clarion Ledger

Nissan debuts new box on wheels to be manufactured in Canton

Nissan debuted a new commercial vehicle for North America today in St. Louis. It's not the sexiest thing around but it looks like it could haul a load. Take a look. The press release called the design "rugged" and "masculine" which in this case is code for pretty damn ugly. But, it's a work vehicle and work vehicles are supposed to work first and be sexy----well it's not supposed to be sexy.

This ain't BA Barracus' van. BA found a way to hide enough supplies in his van to allow Hannibal to be a totally different character in every A-Team episode, carry enough guns to outfit a small Latin American country, and still look cool. But, nontheless, it's got utility. For the gadget geeks the passenger seat includes a segment-exclusive fold-down feature, creating a convenient worktable. An available center console offers innovative storage compartments and space to hold binders and a laptop computer.

ST. LOUIS -- Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today unveiled the all-new Nissan NV, the first entry in the company's new Nissan Commercial Vehicle lineup in North America, at the National Truck Equipment Association's (NTEA) annual Work Truck Show. During the press conference and live Web cast, Nissan Americas Chairman Carlos Tavares and Joe Castelli, vice president, Nissan Commercial Vehicles and Fleet, provided details on Nissan's commercial vehicle strategy in North America and offered the first look at the Nissan NV line of commercial vans.

"Today, we're introducing a tool to help entrepreneurs and owner-operators work smart and more productively. Created and built in America with Nissan's quality and reliability, the NV is a breakthrough in commercial van design," said Tavares. "And the new NV is only the beginning. Nissan will bring a convincing lineup of commercial vehicles to North America, along with a high quality network of dealers across the U.S."

The 2011 Nissan NV (Nissan Van) is scheduled to launch in late 2010. It will be available in three models, NV1500, NV2500 HD and NV3500 HD, and in two roof configurations – Standard Roof and High Roof. The NV is the first High Roof commercial van to offer rugged body-on-frame construction. High Roof models allow most users to walk and stand in the cargo area.

"The Nissan NV means business," said Castelli. "We've got a rugged chassis, ample power and fuel economy, a comfortable cabin and a huge cargo capacity. We're meeting the needs of commercial van owners and operators with innovation and a shared vision."

The new Nissan NV line will be manufactured at Nissan's Canton, Mississippi assembly facility.