| Important Dates In MMNA History |
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October 1985 |
Diamond-Star Motors (DSM) is incorporated
Normal, Illinois is selected as the site location |
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April 1986 |
Ground is broken for the new facility |
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June 1986 |
First employee is hired |
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August 1986 |
First steel beam is erected |
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March 1988 |
Diamond-Star facility completed two months ahead of schedule |
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September 1988 |
Product launch of the first two commercial cars (Job 1) – Mitsubishi Eclipse coupe and Plymouth Laser coupe |
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November 1988 |
Official grand opening ceremony |
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April 1989 |
UAW Local 2488 charter established |
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May 1989 |
Second shift begins work six months ahead of schedule |
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August 1989 |
First UAW contract ratified |
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October 1991 |
Mitsubishi purchases Chrysler’s share in DSM |
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July 1995 |
Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America, Inc. replaces Diamond-Star Motors as company name |
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October 1995 |
MMMA celebrates production of 1,000,000th vehicle, first Eclipse Spyder convertible and 10 Year Anniversary |
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October 1996 |
MMMA creates Supplier Diversity Program |
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June 1997 |
MMMA adopts corporate Mission Statement after involving more than 80% of employees in identifying core, guiding values |
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November 1998 |
Rich Gilligan hired as Chief Operating Officer (COO) |
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November 1999 |
MMMA achieves ISO 9002 certification |
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March 2000 |
DaimlerChrysler announced it was taking a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, the parent company of MMMA |
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May 2000 |
Hirao Iijima becomes President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MMMA |
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June 2000 |
MMMA President & CEO Hirao Iijima and MMMA Executive Vice President (EVP) & COO Rich Gilligan are named to the newly established North American Operations Committee to oversee the joint operations of MMMA, Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America, Inc. (MMSA), Mitsubishi Research & Design of America (MRDA) and Mitsubishi Motors America (MMA) |
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November 2000 |
MMMA breaks ground for plant expansion to house equipment and tooling to build a new Mitsubishi SUV as part of Project America |
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February 2001 |
MMMA celebrates assembly of 2,000,000th vehicle |
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April 2001 |
MMMA achieves ISO 14001 certification |
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January 2002 |
MMMA renamed Mitsubishi Motors North America Manufacturing Division (MMNA) |
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January, 2003 |
Launch of Endeavor SUV. MMNA is now mass producing six different models on one assembly line. |
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April, 2003 |
Ground is broken for assembly shop expansion, increasing size of MMNA Manufacturing to 2.4 million square feet. |
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June, 2003 |
MMNA ranked number one North American manufacturer in assembly productivity by Harbour and Associates. |
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April 2004 |
MMNA-built Dodge Stratus wins J.D. Power Initial Quality Gold Award. Mitsubishi Galant wins Initial Quality Bronze Award. |
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February 2005 |
Dodge Stratus coupe and Chrysler Sebring coupe completed production at MMNA Manufacturing facility. |
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May 2005 |
Mitsubishi Endeavor awarded Silver Award in J.D. Power IQS survey for midsize SUV segment. |
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October 2005 |
MMNA hosts first Mitsubishi Owner's Day at MMNA, Manufacturing Division. |
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May 2007 |
Mitsubishi Eclipse earns Car & Driver Gold Star of Approval. |
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June 2008 |
Mitsubishi Galant awarded Silver Award in J.D. Power IQS survey for midsize car segment. |
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January 2009 |
MMNA, Manufacturing Division named "Company of the Year" by On Wheels, Inc. at the Annual Urban Wheel Awards honoring organizations for diversity in the auto industry. |
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October 2009 |
MMNA celebrates assembly of 3,000,000th vehicle. |
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