Born-in-USA Jeep feels right at home in Italy

MELFI, Italy -- The Jeep Renegade may have been designed in America, but here in Melfi where it is made, the new SUV has become a source of pride for Italian workers.

"American styling, Italian heart," is the theme of a poster that Italian workers crafted after a one-week training course.

The poster symbolizes how Italian workers have fully and seriously embraced the challenge of making Jeep SUVs for America and the rest of the world, said Bartolomo Callari, the plant's body shop manager.

"They are very proud," Callari said of the workers.

That pride shows in the cleanliness of the plant. The place is spotless, a difficult feat in a busy automaking plant.Melfi's workers celebrated the start of production for the Renegade in September.

"Two years ago, because of lower production volume, the workers were working about one week per month," said Ennico Meccia, manager of the final assembly shop at the plant. "Now, we work 20 shifts per week and operate seven days per week,"Another 3,330 work for 18 suppliers at an adjacent supplier park.

Since it opened in 1992 the Melfi plant mostly made the Fiat Punto -- successful small car sold in Europe.

Today, the plant employs 7,690 workers and churns out an average of 1,450 Jeep Renegade SUVs, Fiat 500 crossovers and Fiat Puntos per day.

But as a deep recession hit Europe in 2010, workers here feared for their jobs as auto sales plummeted. And workers at the Melfi plant – located in southern Italy – had it worse than autoworkers elsewhere because there is little else here when it comes to manufacturing. Even today, unemployment in southern Italy for workers under 35 is close to 30%.

But then FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne, who was looking both for a way to turn Jeep into a larger global brand and a way to keep the company's Italian plants producing cars decided to invest $2 billion to renovate and retool the plant to build the Jeep Renegade and the Fiat 500X.

Suddenly, this plant became the first to benefit directly and substantially from the combination Fiat and Chrysler. The workers also understand that Jeep is an internationally recognized brand from America that symbolizes toughness.

"There is a pride here to make Jeep because it is American," said Gianfranco Cinquefiori, manager plant's stamping division.