Brampton Assembly (AMC)

The Brampton Assembly Plant is a former automobile manufacturing facility owned and operated by American Motors Corporation (AMC) in Brampton, Ontario. The factory began production in 1962 to build over 1.2 million AMC cars and Jeep vehicles through the automaker's acquisition by Chrysler in 1987, until it was closed in 1992.

AMC Brampton Assembly Plant

Built	1960
Location	Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates	43.678°N 79.722°W
Industry	Automotive
Products	Rambler American Rambler Classic AMC Ambassador AMC Concord AMC Eagle AMC Gremlin AMC Hornet AMC Rebel AMC Spirit Jeep CJ Jeep Wrangler
Area	40 acres (16.2 ha)
Address	Kennedy Road Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Defunct	1992

The plant was sold off to Wal-Mart for use as a warehouse, and the buildings were eventually demolished in the 2000s when the site was redeveloped into a shopping center.

History

The factory was built at the corner of Steeles Avenue and Kennedy Road for American Motors Canada, Inc., who relocated operations from the old Danforth assembly plant (now Shoppers World Danforth) - which also previously served as the Canadian production site of the Ford Model T and Model A - to Peel-Elder's new "Peel Village" neighborhood in Brampton. The facility produced its first Rambler Classic on January 26, 1961.[1]

The facility was composed of an assembly plant, parts warehouse, and engine plant, with an annual capacity of over 50,000 vehicles while employing 1,100 hourly and 500 salaried workers.[2] The Rambler Classic was built on a line speed of 32 cars per shift.[3] The facility was soon producing 33,000 cars annually in Canada.[4] This assembly plant produced Rambler Americans, AMC Rebels, and later, Hornets, Concords, Gremlins, Spirits, and Eagles. A long rail spur was built south from Canadian National Railway's busy Halton Sub mainline to service the plant. New automobiles were loaded with ramps onto autoracks for rail shipment at the plant.

With very little Canadian production prior to 1965, American Motors was in the best position of the U.S. automakers to take advantage of the Canada–United States Automotive Products Agreement.[5] This plant also allowed AMC to export cars within Commonwealth countries at a favorable tariff rate, making AMC the number one US nameplate in markets such as Trinidad and Jamaica in the 1960s.[6] The assembly of Ambassador models was moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin while production of Ramblers and Rebels increased. By 1969, the output of AMC's Brampton operation was destined to the eastern half of the continent while Kenosha supplied the western regions.[7]

In 1977, AMC hired the first female assembly worker and Cecilia Palmer became Canadian Auto Workers Local 1285's first sister,[3] now Unifor Local 1285.

Passenger car assembly was moved from Brampton to Kenosha in 1978, and this allowed AMC to expand production of its popular Jeep CJ-5 and CJ-7 models.[8]

As Renault increased control of AMC since 1979, the future of the old Brampton facility was in jeopardy by 1982.[9] Renault's strategic business plan was to limit production of AMCs to Kenosha and Jeeps to Toledo as part of efforts to gain economies of scale.[9] Moreover, local production was no longer a prerequisite for duty-free access into the Canadian market as long as the car's Canadian-sourced parts content met a minimum ratio to the total value of its sales in Canada.[9]

Discussions to possibly utilize the assembly plant's capacity with Nissan ended in 1986, while at the time AMC's president, Jose Dedeurwaerder, a former Renault executive, made an "ominous" statement that the automaker was openly looking for a partner.[10]

In 1987, with the Chrysler buyout, the AMC division and its plants (Brampton and Bramalea) were absorbed into Chrysler, becoming part of Chrysler Canada Limited. At the time of Chrysler's purchase, the combined total production capacity of the four of AMC assembly plants (Brampton, Kenosha, Toledo, and the brand new Bramalea Assembly in Brampton) had a combined annually total production capacity of around 700,000 vehicles.[11] This meant overcapacity for Chrysler, and AMC's old Kenosha and Toledo factories were at the top of Chrysler's closure list.[12] The workers in Toledo agreed to concessions to keep the factory open, but by 1990, they were pitted against Brampton Assembly and additional concessions by the Toledo employees were crucial to Chrysler's decision to close Brampton.[12] The old Brampton factory had been building the Jeep Wrangler, which in 1992 was moved to Toledo and the Brampton plant closed.[13]

With this transfer and closure, AMC's new Bramalea Assembly plant (that was built 1986) was renamed the Brampton Assembly and began producing the new large Chrysler LH platform models (Chrysler Concorde, Dodge Intrepid, and Eagle Vision).[13]

Legacy

The original AMC factory was closed on April 4, 1992[3] and sold to Wal-Mart for use as one of their Canadian warehouses. The remains of the plant's west buildings were torn down in 2005, and the land was redeveloped for commercial/retail use. Among the buildings on the site is a Lowe's home improvement store that opened on December 10, 2007, as one of the first three to be established by the retail chain in Canada.[14] The old factory's east building was demolished in 2007, and a Walmart Supercentre now occupies the site along with a warehouse.

Rambler Drive, a street to the west of the plant leading into the Peel Village neighborhood off Kennedy, serves as a reminder of AMC's former presence in the area.[15]

Annual production

American Motors' original Brampton production and products for model years (MY) from 1961 to 1992:[16]

1979 Jeep CJ-7 manufactured November 1978 at AMC's Brampton Assembly

Year	Model	Units	MY totals
1961	Rambler Classic	4,168	4,168
1962	Rambler American	5,050
	Rambler Classic	12,297	17,347
1963	Rambler American	5,308
	Rambler Classic	18,941
	Rambler Ambassador	3,242	27,491
1964	Rambler American	11,860
	Rambler Classic	19,247
	Rambler Ambassador	1,877	32,984
1965	Rambler American	9,391
	Rambler Classic	18,264
	Rambler Ambassador	6,893	34,548
1966	Rambler American	9,314
	Rambler Classic	11,606
	AMC Ambassador	7,852	28,772
1967	Rambler American	5,434
	AMC Rebel	15,836
	AMC Ambassador	10,125	31,395
1968	Rambler American	25,296
	AMC Rebel	9,718
	AMC Ambassador	6,413	41,427
1969	American	24,185
	AMC Rebel	15,529	38,714
1970	AMC Hornet	36,408
	AMC Gremlin	3,260
	AMC Rebel	3,581	43,249
1971	AMC Hornet	17,666
	AMC Gremlin	23,428	41,094
1972	AMC Hornet	18,650
	AMC Gremlin	33,091	57,741
1973	AMC Hornet	32,331
	AMC Gremlin	37,663	69,994
1974	AMC Hornet	43,150
	AMC Gremlin	39,223	82,373
1975	AMC Hornet	21,848
	AMC Gremlin	10,163	32,011
1976	AMC Hornet	35,204
	AMC Gremlin	14,422	49,626
1977	AMC Hornet	21,218
	AMC Gremlin	19,166	40,284
1978	AMC Concord	41,017
	AMC Gremlin	4,211	45,228
1979	Jeep CJ-5	20,913
	Jeep CJ-7	30,684	51,597
1980	Jeep CJ-5	12,050
	Jeep CJ-7	17,993	30,043
1981	AMC Concord	10,441
	AMC Eagle	10,347	20,788
1982	AMC Concord	10,117
	AMC Eagle	20,900	31,017
1983	AMC Concord	14,277
	AMC Spirit	1,689
	AMC Eagle	10,424
	AMC Eagle SX/4	5,398	31,788
1984	AMC Eagle	25,535
	AMC Eagle SX/4	1	25,536
1985	AMC Eagle	16,866	16,866
1986	AMC Eagle	8,217	8,217
1987	AMC Eagle	4,996
	Jeep Wrangler	44,517	49,513
1988	Eagle Wagon *	2,305
	Jeep Wrangler	46,130	48,435
1989	Jeep Wrangler	71,025	71,025
1990	Jeep Wrangler	57,451	57,451
1991	Jeep Wrangler	57,241	57,241
1992	Jeep Wrangler	82,015	82,015
1961-1992	Grand total		1,280,078

* Note: the final AMC branded car (not Jeep), a 1988 AMC Eagle, was built on December 11, 1987, and shipped from Brampton on December 15 to a dealer in the U.S.[17]

References

1. Jacobs, Andrew James (2016). The new domestic automakers in the United States and Canada: history, impacts, and prospects. Lexington Books. p. 61. ISBN 9780739188262. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
2. "The Hatchery - Section II - Vehicle Production at the American Motors Corporation" (PDF). AMC Eagle Nest. p. 10. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
3. "The History of Brampton's Largest Union Local - UNIFOR 1285". UNIFOR Local 1285. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
4. Anastakis, Dimitry (2005). Auto pact: creating a borderless North American auto industry, 1960-1971. University of Toronto Press. p. 125. ISBN 9780802038210. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
5. Anastakis, p. 128.
6. Billeter, Vera (1965). Logoz, Arthur (ed.). "The American Motors Story". Auto-Universum 1966 (English edition). Zürich, Switzerland: Verlag International Automobile Parade. IX: 18.
7. Anastakis, pp. 128-129.
8. Schnapps, John B. (1978). Corporate Strategies of the Automotive Manufacturers: Strategic histories - Volume 2 of Corporate Strategies of the Automotive Manufacturers: Final Report. U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. pp. 11–23. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
9. Perry, Ross (1982). The Future of Canada's Auto Industry: The Big Three and the Japanese Challenge. Canadian Institute for Economic Policy. p. 153. ISBN 9780888626103. Retrieved 7 January 2016. AMC Brampton Assembly.
10. Cranswick, Marc (2011). The Cars of American Motors: An Illustrated History. McFarland. p. 311. ISBN 9780786485703. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
11. Risen, James (10 March 1987). "Chrysler Plans to Buy AMC for $757 Million: Reaches Accord on Purchasing Renault's 46.1% Interest; Wants Jeep, Assembly Plants, Dealers". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
12. Phelps, Nicholas A.; Raines, Philip (2003). The New Competition for Inward Investment: Companies, Institutions and Territorial Development. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 102. ISBN 9781781956984. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
13. "Brampton, Ontario Chrysler plants". Allpar. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
14. "Lowe's expands internationally, opens first Canadian stores" (Press release). Groupe CNW. 10 December 2007. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
15. "Rambler Drive, Brampton, ON, Canada". Google Maps. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
16. Dr. Rambler (October 2009). "Brampton production figures according to Plant Tour Brochure". Geocities. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
17. Strang, Alan. "The Last AMC Built (from American Motoring, Newsletter of the American Motors Owners Association, Vol. 12, No. 4, September 1988". southern classic. Retrieved 7 January 2016.