Honda opens new engine assembly line

Honda's Alabama plant marked the opening of a new engine assembly line this week that the Japanese automaker calls a breakthrough for its operations in North America.

The $71.4 million highly automated facility will produce V6 engines for the Odyssey minivans, Pilot SUVs and Acura MDX SUVs made at the Talladega County factory.

It replaces and expands two previous assembly lines that were in separate locations within the factory. Combining the two lines in one place will help Honda improve flexibility and efficiency in responding to consumer demand for light trucks.

Since Honda began operating in Alabama in 2001, workers have cast and assembled all of the engines that power the vehicles built there, totaling more than 3.4 million.

The new engine assembly line employs more than 250 people in two shifts. It also features 92 advanced robots and can produce 1,500 engines per day.

There is a robotic station that can assemble more than 9,000 pistons daily, at a cycle time of six seconds per piston. The line also has a fully-automated piston installation process, which represents a first for any Honda engine plant in the world.

Honda employs more than 4,000 people at the 3.7 million-square-foot factory in Lincoln. In the past three years, the company has invested more than $510 million there and added more than 450 jobs in various expansions and upgrades.

Later this year, the factory will officially launch production of the redesigned Pilot SUV, which was shown at the Chicago Auto Show in February.

In addition, production of the redesigned Ridgeline pickup is slated to begin in Lincoln early next year.