CHICAGO HEIGHTS | Production of the Ford Explorer in Chicago will give an opportunity to employees at the automaker's stamping plant in the city to feel more secure in their jobs and bring much needed investment to the south suburbs, union officials said Friday.

Employees at Ford Motor Co.'s Chicago Stamping Plant, representatives from United Auto Workers Local 588 and Ford officials spoke to The Times on Friday while leading a tour of the plant for U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson, D-Ill.

The mood of employees at the Cottage Grove Avenue and Lincoln Highway facility is vastly improved from where it was in November 2008 when layoffs hit the stamping plant and the assembly plant lost its second shift, said Matt Kolanowski, chairman of the UAW's local bargaining unit.

Prior to January's announcement that the nearby Chicago Assembly Plant will produce the new Ford Explorer, Kolanowski said Ford invested millions of dollars into the stamping plant to upgrade areas of the facility. He said the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker also brought work from other areas of the company to the stamping plant.

Kolanowski, of Hammond, said feelings of job security is at its highest level in about six years as the specter of layoffs has hung around Ford's Chicago-area facilities. He said it's also a benefit that one of its suppliers, Lear Corp., announced it would hire about 285 employees at its Hammond seat manufacturing plant.

"There's a lot of pride in the company, and they're very excited about the upcoming Explorer," he said. "It makes everyone in this plant whole."

An economic report conducted by the University of Illinois in fall 2008 estimated for every job at Ford, nearly three others were created elsewhere in the economy.

Jim Nelson, spokesman for the Illinois Manufacturers' Association, said "we can always hope" that Ford's announcement will spin off other manufacturing expansions, but conditions on the ground make it too difficult to tell when that will happen.

With the Explorer coming to Chicago, Ford said it would add 1,200 workers to its area facilities, the bulk of which would staff a second shift at the Chicago Assembly Plant in Hegewisch. Ford estimated the total investment in both plants related to the launch would be about $400 million.

Company spokeswoman Marcey Evans said earlier this year that while laid-off employees would get the first shot at the new positions, new hires would be expected to fill remaining openings.

About 750 hourly and 100 salaried employees work at the stamping plant, said Bill Jackson, president of UAW Local 588.

Details on when new hires would be made at the facility weren't available Friday.

The more than 2 million-square-foot plant sits on 136 acres and opened in 1956.

Although Ford hasn't formally made another production announcement for Chicago, Jackson, of Dyer, said discussions are ongoing to bring more vehicles or opportunities to the area that will increase employment.

"We're always looking for future products," Jackson said. "Any time you're representing a work force, you want to make sure jobs are more secure."

Halvorson said visiting the facility was like returning home for her. Halvorson, who now represents eight Illinois counties and about 750,000 residents, formerly represented the state Senate district encompassing the stamping plant.

She said although the economy will improve amid news of companies such as Ford expanding, those without jobs are still going through tough times.

"If you're the person looking for a job, it's still a crisis for you," Halvorson said. "We still have a ways to go."

Halvorson said measures such as the $15 billion jobs bill passed in the House on Thursday are examples of the efforts needed to right the economic ship. More legislation likely is needed, she said.

"Our focus this year is all about jobs and turning around the economy," Halvorson said.

Chicago Stamping Plant process

Steel coils and pre-cut steel sheets arrive at the facility and are then stamped into certain parts such as body panels or hoods using presses and other equipment.

Then the parts are inspected and sent to another area of the plant called "subassembly" to undergo further processing. Most of the semifinished parts produced at Chicago Stamping go to the Chicago Assembly Plant, but parts also are sent to other Ford assembly plants including those near Louisville, Ky., St. Paul, Minn., and Kansas City, Mo.