A greenfield plant near Monterrey, Mexico, is becoming the heart of Meritor steer axle production, the production center for state-of-the-art ring-gear and pinion manufacture and the model for future expansion and modernization of ArvinMeritor facilities.

Showing a new agility for the company, the 400,000-square-feet plant in Cienega de Flores was built in record time: From ground breaking at the industrial complex to the first production deliveries took just nine months.

The dedication was in late August, with steer axles for International and Volvo coming off the Number One line already working a double shift. A second line is due to be installed within months and the capacity will be reached for three-shift production of as many as 600 axles a day by mid 2009.

Investment at the site currently stands at $30 million, but at the dedication, ArvinMeritor Commercial Vehicle Systems president and COO Carsten Reinhardt said that by the time the plant is in full operation with four different product groups in each of the plant's "quadrants," investment will likely double that sum.

At present, only a few of the gear cutting and finishing machines are in operation, but already completed ring-and-pinion gearsets are being shipped to Meritor axle plants. Ultimately, when more of the dry broaching machines are installed, the plant will supply Meritor facilities in Europe and North America with gear sets.

The cutting machines are the most modern in any gear production plant, said Reinhardt, with the Swiss Oerlikon machines cutting the gears with both the broach and workpiece rotating; the cycle that takes around two and a half minutes per piece. The gears are heat treated, then finish ground by running a ring-gear and pinion together in an abrasive carbide slurry. When they are finished a final check verifies the tooth contact for the pair. World-class finish and dimensional accuracy are assured for the matching sets after finishing on the lapping machines.

Manufacturing gears this way makes for quiet running, durability and good shock resistance, said the Meritor guide showing us around the new facility.

At present, the plant looks very antiseptic and quite empty, waiting for more machines for the gear cutting and for the second steer axle assembly line. But it will not be long before the space is filled, said Reinhardt. He didn't say what other products would be produced in the other two quadrants at the plant.

The Mexican plant is the first new manufacturing facility for ArvinMeritor in 19 years. It is to be the model for the update and re-equipping of many Meritor facilities as the company overhauls its business and production as part of its Performance Plus restructuring program.

The new facility replaced some production capacity elsewhere, like the movement of steer axles from Arden North Carolina which is destined to close, but the gear cutting, for instance, is additional capacity for Meritor axles, which enjoy significant market share in many markets around the world.

Customers for the steer axles include International and Volvo already being supplied, with Freightliner, Autocar, American La France and GM all mentioned. With the transfer of all steer axle production to Monterrey, other customer such as Peterbilt and Kenworth will also be included. Meritor also supplies steer axles and ring-and-pinion gearsets to European truck makers.