Chrysler Eyes Opening Indiana Gearbox Plant

Chrysler Group LLC is considering completing a transmission factory in Tipton, Ind., to build nine-speed transmissions, the Kokomo Tribune reports.

Chrysler says it has requested state and local tax abatements on the unfinished building for a possible future investment but provided no additional details.

The unfinished 781,500-sq-ft facility was started in 2007 by the automaker's $530 million joint venture with Germany's Getrag International GmbH. The partners intended to make dual-clutch transmissions for Chrysler vehicles.

But the venture collapsed acrimoniously in late 2008. The project was abandoned as the carmaker headed toward bankruptcy.

The property was sold to Boulder, Colo.-based developer W.W. Reynolds in 2010 for $25 million. Plans for a solar panel maker to use the facility fizzled. Reynolds has since listed the property for $40 million.

The site is about 25 miles south of Chrysler's transmission plant in Kokomo, Ind., which makes front-wheel-drive eight-speed transmissions and plans to add a nine-speed gearbox. The Tipton County Commission is scheduled to review the company's request on Dec. 17, according to the Tribune.