Brampton Assembly (AMC)
| Built | 1960 |
|---|---|
| Location | Brampton, Ontario, Canada |
| Coordinates | 43°40′41″N 79°43′19″W / 43.678°N 79.722°W |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Products | |
| Area | 40 acres (16.2 ha) |
| Address |
|
| Defunct | 1992 |
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 various AMC cars and Jeep vehicles through the automaker's acquisition by Chrysler in 1987 until it was closed in 1992. The plant sold off to Wal-Mart for use as a warehouse, and the buildings eventually demolished in the 2000s when the site was redeveloped.
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.
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. The Rambler Classic was built on a line speed of 32 cars per shift. The facility was soon producing 33,000 cars annually in Canada. 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. 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. 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.
...
Wikipedia